Shindo Hikaru's Imagination

Nokia goes Windows 7

2011-02-15T03:52:00.000-08:00

At the Mobile World Congress 2010, Nokia announced that it will have Windows 7 as its flagship operating system for its products. This announcement was hinted thru Stephen Elop's memo earlier hinting that Nokia needs to keep up with the latest in the software side while admitting that they have been facing a tough time nowadays that a lot of mobile phones have risen to the challenge.

There are mixed reactions about Nokia embracing Windows. One of these was that Nokia has to differentiate itself from other mobile companies. It does not want to fall under the same category as that of other companies embracing Android and releasing Android-based phones. I'd beg to disagree on this point because Symbian OS which has been their flagship OS eversince is also the same OS that other companies have been using throughout the decade. It seems that their decision to leave Symbian is like admitting that they have done poorly on the research and development of the operating system eventhough it is now open-source and Java developers are still at large. Over the past few years, we have seen only a few enhancements to the OS and while they continue to ramp up their phones to cater different classes of people, they just haven't gotten emphasis on the software.

Microsoft who has rebooted its Windows mobile OS will greatly benefit from this partnership but the question is how fast will they be encouraging developers to code in their mobile OS. They haven't had any success in the handheld industry which is why the rumored Zune handheld console is still a myth which I believe is definitely something they've considered making but unable to deliver.

Nokia on the other hand has noted that since they have the innovative hardware and design which consumers are still embracing will definitely benefit on the software Microsoft offers because they just need to focus on the business they excel on. With a limping Symbian OS, their products are still what consumers want. User-friendliness is one of Nokia's biggest assets and so does Microsoft. The problem will be if they can deliver that same user-friendly mobile phone with a unique look that will make consumers think it is still a Nokia phone.
Repercussions

- With Nokia dumping Symbian OS, what will happen to its developers? Symbian is Java-based and since Android is a relative, they will most likely go Android since they don't really have other options.

- What will happen to Symbian OS? I believe that with proper funding or just even emphasis by the community, Symbian is still worth focusing the efforts. It is still a sound OS with strong foundation. The only problem is that Google, who is active in the open-source community, has also a business to take care off and their mobile OS preference is Android.

- What will the difference of Nokia-made Windows-based phones be to other competing Windows phones? At the end of the year we may be able to take a look at Nokia Windows phones but other companies have a headstart and already have released Windows 7 phones.

- Will Rim be the next to follow Nokia's footsteps? Blackberry products have been almost purely catering on business phones. And nowadays, they are marketing products for the masses. Problem is that they are a few steps behind in technology and most especially their OS.

Many people were disappointed with Nokia's decision and that includes me. If they have just given proper research and development on Symbian this wouldn't have gotten into a three-way battle on mobile software supremacy between Microsoft, Apple and Google. These three companies are taking their software influence to a new heights and right now Microsoft is back in the ballgame.

The Future of Handheld Console

2011-01-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

More than twenty years ago, Nintendo was one of the pioneers in the campaign towards invention and innovation of handheld consoles which later on evolved into products such as Game Boy and then the recent Nintendo DS. Eventually, Sony caught up and challenged Nintendo and produced one of their own, the Playstation Portable.

Nowadays, the two giants finally have competition and probably the one affected a lot by this era gearing towards everything mobile is Nintendo. Apple’s bold and quick move to go from simple iPods to a larger screen with touch screen features like iTouch and then later on evolving into iPhone which now has motion-sensing capabilities too has made quite a ruckus that the gaming audience grew massively wide. With the popularity of downloads, Apple launched iTunes and Apple Store and later on allowed downloads of casual games causing another shake up in the gaming handheld scene. Going back to Nintendo, who, back then at around 2004 was kicking Sony’s PSP’s butt with the DS, got ourselves wondering, are they still the king of handheld console?

It’s a well-known fact that the DS is by large a better portable gaming device than PSP largely because of Nintendo’s innovative product and experience in this business. The success of DS also proved that pure hardware upgrade is not always the key towards a great gaming experience which also had an effect on the current console battles. But with the arrival of iPhone and iTouch, and mobile phones with gaming capabilities, consumers are now becoming more satisfied with an all-in-one mobile device. Slowly but surely, electronics companies have incorporated camera, video, Wi-Fi, internet and even office utilities into mobile phones. Nintendo’s launch of 3DS, which is due about two months from now, is still widely appreciated mainly because of their unique push to innovation once again which is another first in handheld gaming – a portable 3D gaming experience. Their success comes from a resume of rich gaming industry experience which still attracts gamers and non-gamers alike. However, 3DS lacks the capability to text and call which is clearly one of the main features of a handy device that more and more consumers are looking for – a one-stop shop gadget.

This article ends with more of a question if Nintendo can keep up with all these recent technological breakthroughs rather than being bold and predicting their demise in the gaming industry. Also, Sony which is still at infancy stage of creation of handheld consoles may have been hit harder. Apple and Microsoft which are also entering the handheld arena know for themselves that they are not experienced enough in gaming but have one of the most powerful weapons in them – their Operating Systems. Google has been pushing for its Android OS which may also be a key factor in the scene as well. In the end, experience, innovation and true passion in gaming will prove to be the characteristics of those who will survive in the future together with embracing the constant change of technology.

Play Wii Games in Dolphin

2011-01-08T01:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! It’s been almost five months since I wrote something on this blog. Anyways, I’ve been playing with casual Wii games on the PC for two weeks now thru Dolphin. Here are simple steps on how you’d want to play Wii eventhough you don’t have an actual Nintendo Wii console:

1. Visit http://www.dolphin-emulator.com/ to download the Dolphin Wii emulator. Originally, Dolphin was an open-source emulator developed for GameCube games. After years of lack of attention to developers, it later on picked up the pace as other sets of developers found out that the Wii console’s design didn’t vary too much with the GameCube’s. Since then, it was incorporated with Wiimote and nunchuck detection capabilities via Bluetooth. One thing to take note of is that you need to have at least a dual core processor and a high end video card to achieve the normal frame rate for normal Wii games.

2. Download Nintendo Wii ISOs. The main advantage of Wii games played in Dolphin over the actual console is that it can play any region version. Just like Xbox 360, the Wii has region versions such as NTSC-U (USA), PAL (European) and NTSC-J (Asian). This is quite annoying frankly for gamers who don’t really know about regional settings because not everyone knows that you can’t just plug-and-play a game in the console actually be able to play it. I don’t know about the modified version but as mentioned, Wii is a region-restricted console meaning you won’t be able to play a video game if it isn’t the same version as your console. This has proven to be one of the most underrated features of Dolphin so far, IMHO.

3. Play using either the keyboard or real Wiimote and nunchuck controller. If you just want to try out Dolphin, try opening a Wii ISO which requires limited motion-sensing features and just configure the computer keyboard to get started. One good game to test Dolphin thru the keyboard is the game “New Super Mario Bros.” which is an old school game reinvented. If you have a real Wiimote and nunchuck controller, you can use it to play games via Bluetooth. This is quite easy to play with. Detection should be easy as the Wiimote vibrates when it is detected by the emulator.

4. Play in HD/ Full HD. One of the weakest selling points of Wii is its graphical resolution. You won’t be able to play in HD and Full HD in the actual console. Its selling point is the motion-sensing games. After all, motion-sensing games don’t require the gamer to be keen on graphics since they are also focusing on their movement on the game too. The game development has also been focused more on how to create innovative games based on motions. However, since we are in the high-resolution era and we are talking about a console emulator running in your computer which has an upgradable video card and varying resolution, developers incorporated the HD capability to perhaps even attract the hardcore gamers to take a look at the future of Wii’s second-generation console. In fairness to Nintendo and Wii game developers, even if the graphics their console does not support next-gen resolutions, they’ve managed to develop games which are eye-pleasing thru technologies such as Cell-Shading which has been rampant on Cartoon-based games.

5. Play in 3D. I haven’t actually played Wii games in 3D because you have to buy 3D glasses which is around $150-200 but this is a huge boost in the development concept of Dolphin. And since Sony’s push to go 3D even without the glasses as Nintendo’s 3DS offers, Dolphin may be able to get an upgrade anytime soon – provided you also have a 3D glasses-free display.

6. Open source. Curious on how Dolphin is implemented? Forget the binaries and start tweaking the actual emulator. This is a great way to help the community in innovating perhaps one of the best emulation program to date – Dolphin.

Setting Up Internet Connection using Windows 7 Without A Router

2010-08-28T01:20:00.001-07:00

Quick post here. I just finished setting up internet connection sharing using Windows 7. Here are the steps on how to do it.

Note: This also applies to files/folder sharing.

1. Go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Set up a new connection or network (Set up a wireless, broadband, dial-up, ad hoc, or VPN connection; or set up a router or access point).

Note: The computer must have the Windows 7 OS installed. This router set-up won't work with previous operating systems.

2. Set up a temporary password for other computers to connect. I prefer WEP since this is only temporary and you don't have to generate a complex password to abide by the rules of 5 to 12 characters.

3. On the other computer, go to Control Panel -> Network and then enter the password.

Voila! Now you have a temporary internet connection sharing! Hope this quick tutorial was helpful.

10 Things You Need To Know About LED TVs

2010-08-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

http://reviews.cnet.com/led-tvs-review-10-things-you-need-to-know?tag=featuredStory

Here's a very informative article on what is the status of the latest in the television - LED TVs. To summarize, here are the key points of the article:

- LED TVs are more expensive than LCD TVs because of the production costs. However, electricity charges are only slightly cheaper for LED TVs. Plasma TVs still cost a lot.

- IMHO, nothing still beats CRT TVs in visual quality. Plasma TVs follow in the simple practical fact that vision is better anywhere you are compared to LCD and LED TVs. If you are in the center of the TV though, vision quality is better in LCD/LED TVs.

- The potential for LED TVs is still vast and promising. Expect better quality and larger resolution of TVs in the near future.

In the meantime, don't be such a hardcore hardware specialist buying yourself the latest in TV sets. Just be practical and go get a medium-range priced television set.

NBA Video Game Superstar Characteristics

2010-08-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Ever since I played NBA video games, I always wanted a career mode for players. The making of a superstar is not always in a straight path. Others take time while others are just born to be there. Here are some ideas I have in mind for superstar players in the making:

Prodigy - Since birth, this superstar has been given gifted abilities unparalleled by others. Scouts have seen him and project him to be a top 1 pick since high school and college. Taking the quick route, he'll go to the Pros once he's finished his freshmen year in NCAA.

Late Bloomer - He won't be an immediate impact but scouts have projected him to be an all-star caliber. But as he adjusts his game to the NBA, he'll start to impress everyone by exceeding their expectations. Around 3-5 years, he'll be one of the top players of the league and a franchise player.

Hardworker - Either taken from the D-League, undrafted or late draft pick, he'll work on his game. He'll be a bench player for a while playing a shooter's role or a defensive stopper, he'll become a force to reckon with once he's given playing time.

Foreign Key - A prospect from other leagues like Euroleague, he'll earn attention by grabbing awards on other leagues before making a big jump to the NBA. Adjustment will be a major factor in his transition to the NBA.

DotA ESWC Grand Finals 2010 Recap

2010-07-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

EHome vs DTS Gaming

Line Up:
EH.GIGABYTE.AAA - Gorgon
EH.GIGABYTE.X!! - Vengeful Spirit
EHOME.820.CN - Demon Witch
EH.GIGABYTE.lJy - Admiral Proudmoore
EH.GIGABYTE.357 - Earth Shaker

DTS)Light - Drow Ranger
DTS|Dread - Witch Doctor
DTS|Dendi - Nevermore
DTS|ArtStyle - Lightning Revenant
DTS^NS - Crystal Maiden

The ESWC DotA Grand Finals proved that EHome is clearly at its peak dominating DTS the entire game. With all of their hero picks having disabling skills, it became tough for DTS to make a comeback out of early harrasing of the top and bottom lanes.

Besides the lack of warding, the late skill addition of the Drow Ranger of Silence which may have mightily helped them against early ganking by EHome has been one of the key factors in their loss. For the most part, Earth Shaker was constantly jungling and with the help of the Vengeful Spirit, they have torn apart the top and bottom lanes. In addition to that, the Admiral Proudmoore was able to push around the Lightning Revenant at the bottom lane with the lack of help from other players. Crystal Maiden was jungling but was unable to assist most of the times coming in late or getting killed resulting in a huge level gap unlike EHome's jungler Earth Shaker.

DTS had no strength heroes to rely on to carry the game should it become a long battle with both the Drow Ranger and Lightning Revenant unsuccessful in their attempts to farm early in the game.

Eventhough the game was lopsided, DTS has managed to defend the middle lane although it is unclear if EHome did it on purpose concentrating on how to harrass other lanes and just allowing the Demon Witch to level up and rack up its disabling abilities.
The clash at around seven minutes before the game ended showed how resistance against a team full of disabling skills was futile especially playing with heroes of low HP.

Stats and Replay can be found here.
http://www.playdota.com/forums/263034/eswc-grand-final-ehome-vs-dts/

Post Reactions: Miami Heat gets LeBron James, Chris Bosh in Free Agency

2010-07-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

In what will probably be the most talked about offseason in NBA history, the Miami Heat has acquired three superstars in their prime to play for six years with one goal - to win multiple championships.

LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade and sacrificed signing maximum contracts to play together to perhaps challenge the two-time champion Los Angeles Lakers. One can argue that the climax falls on LeBron's decision to join the Heat, but as we fast forward and think about June next year, this is their way of taking down Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

As much as I despise James's obsession to fame and business at the age of 25, his move to the Heat is a very wise one compared to staying in his hometown Cleveland. He made a ideal decision unminding what his handlers Maverick Carter and World Wide Wes would do and what others especially his hometown asked for of him.

Sure this decision has prompted a lot of criticism and dreams shattered especially to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers fans but hey that is what free agency is for - the right to choose the team you'd like to play with.

Dan Gilbert's provocation of anger and grief towards James was his defense mechanism of how he pampered James and his colleagues and gave them power to rule the Cavs franchise for seven years. It is not entirely James's fault to begin with. Their approach towards player acquisition to strengthen the team was more of a product of hurried decisions like choosing Antawn Jamison over Amare Stoudamire and resigning Anderson Varejao over a better player like David Lee. Believing that Mo Williams is the ideal Robin for James is also a misconception as evidenced by his crumbling to pressure as the co-captain of James.

The only thing entirely wrong for James was to announce his selection on air. He should have taken a graceful exit on his hometown by a quiet declaration of departure. But who's to blame him if he chose not to re-sign? Gilbert shouldn't have tolerated this in the first place. Anyone else should've stepped up and spoken even before his drama anthology began except for Stan Van Gundy of whom many were quick to write off.

Nevertheless, it is hard to leave the team who picked you up in the draft and made you become the special player you are now just like James. With the impending lockout on the following year to come, players, owners, management and most especially the fans can't control the player's chosen path. After all, that's why it's called free agency.

NBA 2010 Free Agency

2010-07-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

As you all may know, the NBA 2010 free agency market is the most anticipated in all of NBA history. With premiere superstars threatening to unite and move to a bigger market and win a championship such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudamire, everything has its own trickle down effects even to the last left of the free agency.

Overspending

Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Miami Heat - these teams are all capable of signing two or more maximum contract players and provide the big market the superstars are craving for. But what happens if LeBron James and Dwyane Wade chose to stay in their home teams just like Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Joe Johnson has done? The key here is not to overspend to pay maximum contracts to second-tier superstars should the top crop of players resign to their respective teams. Giving max contracts to these players reek desperation for teams who will most likely make the playoffs but will regret signing these guys and making them untradeable assets such as Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Rebuilding through the Draft and Trade Acquisitions

Whatever happened to drafting a potential superstar? Oklahoma City Thunder's GM Sam Presti has done a heck of a job in this NBA 2010 offseason. By moving up in the draft, they hope to finally get a true center who can complement the young core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green through Cole Aldrich. Also, along with the movements and salary cap space, they acquired three-point shooters of whom they are lacking in the past season through Morris Peterson and Daequan Cook instead of involving themselves with the drama this free agency offseason has offered the world.

The New Jersey Nets is a team with great young core players at hand. With Brook Lopez and Derrick Favors, they have a bright future with them although I still have doubts that Devin Harris, an all-star potential, injury-riddled point guard, is still in their line of thoughts when it comes to core players. With the failure to land the top pick in the draft lottery and acquiring John Wall, they have a nice consolation promising power forward in Derrick Favors. Hopefully through a couple of years, they can get someone who will be willing to step up as the leader of the team like the prospective number 1 pick of next year's draft Harrison Barnes who coincidentally is a small forward as well just like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. Should they fail to acquire LeBron James, they should hire New Orleans Hornets' GM Jeff Bower as their new general manager primarily of his great drafting skills which produced talents such as Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison who is performing like Chris Paul in Paul's injury-ridden season. Of course, Sam Presti is a given to recruit but he won't be leaving anytime soon.

The Chicago Bulls have also shown great flashes of drafting good young players to fit it in their system thanks to GM John Paxson. Players like Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose were drafted by the Bulls which shows that they have real talent in drafting. The only problem with the Bulls is their way of managing their young players and their contracts once their rookie contracts begin to expire. Also, the cheap shot at hiring a rookie coach Vinny del Negro to coach a potential superstar Derrick Rose is a big no-no for them. But now, thanks in partial to the LeBron James-hype, they've acquired a great coach in Tom Thibodeau. Why credit LeBron James? Because Thibodeau's agency, Creative Artists Agency, apparently is connected to LeBron's agent, Leon Rose. Which is also the reason why the Nets acquired Avery Johnson.

Superstar Pressure

Suppose the top crop of players land in let's say Bulls or Nets, what will young talents like Brook Lopez, Derrick Favors, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose become of? Will they successfully develop into complementary players? Will they succumb to the pressure of having to produce? Or will they ever reach their maximum potential?

An ideal example of this situation is Rajon Rondo. Rondo has been playing superb as of late and is currently the driving force that the Boston Celtics Big Three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett heavily rely upon. He took charge of handling the team of "aging" superstars. However, in his case, the Big Three were united in Celtics past their prime. This is not the case for the Bulls or the Nets because they'll be receiving talents within their prime and their young core of players are still raw especially the Nets.

Well, that was the worst case scenario - pressure to play up to the level of the superstars and then fall off from there. On the other hand, wouldn't it be nice to gamble on a potential superstar's development while he is still young allowing him to be the leader of the team just like Kevin Durant?

Having superstars acquired from free agency is a gift from the basketball gods. However, on the brighter side, failing to land one may also be a blessing in disguise for these teams especially to their young core of players. Who knows, when their free agency time arrives and the market is wide open, it'll be hard for them to leave because the team has shown great trust in them leading their respective teams just like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade who's actually inclined to staying in their home teams.

Nintendo launches Nintendo 3DS

2010-06-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

At the E3 2010, Nintendo has launched its second major installment in the DS-series of handheld console - the Nintendo 3DS. The main selling point of this console is its 3D graphics production feature without having to wear specialized 3D eyeglasses at all. But beyond that, this console brings a message to Nintendo's rivals - "We are the best in this business."

While fans, critics and the media have praised them with delivering unique consoles for this generation, they began to ultimately question Nintendo if they can maintain their creativity and add one thing they've been lacking for - hardware to deliver process and graphics-hungry games. This has prompted gamers to actually buy a second current generation console aside from buying the Wii and DS.
And then came the 3DS. Creativity still there but with added incentive most fans have been craving for - a high-end hardware. The launch of the 3DS comes at the right time. With iPhone gaining popularity on profitability for game developers, Nintendo has found a way to prove that their experience in the gaming industry is always something to reckon with and that handheld gaming console is still better than an all-in-one mobile phone featuring casual gaming.

With over 70 games from over 20 publishers already assured of gaming library, this console will prove to be one of the deepest library selection and widest genre production to ever hit the market. Now, both casual and hardcore gamers are reunited to play with the same console. This has been a challenge for gaming companies such as Sony, Microsoft and even Apple too but Nintendo was the first to reconcile gamers and game developers alike.

The first release of Nintendo 3DS is on March 2011. And while I've only seen it through E3 videos and have been praising it before it hits the market, I'm making a bold prediction that this console is one of the best Nintendo has ever made.

Articles:
http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6265734/third-parties-prepping-dozens-for-3ds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_3DS_games

Happy Google Doodle Phillippine Independence Day!

2010-06-12T00:19:00.000-07:00

Great news! Google made a Google Doodle logo for the Philippine Independence Day! Pilipinas Mabuhay Ka!

Google Celebrates Pacman's 30th Anniversary

2010-05-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

It's Pacman's 30th anniversary and what better way to appreciate it than play it on Google's main page! This is probably the first time that Google incorporated gameplay or even animation while changing its logos when a special event or anniversary occurs during that day. It's also called Google Doodles btw.

Here are some of the screenshots of Google's Pacman game.

Anyways, the official Pacman page is located here.

I'm not really sure about the Pacman implementation on Google but I'm guessing its made of python and javascript.

Cannot empty the clipboard error.

2010-05-19T00:45:00.000-07:00

If you're having problems with copying contents on the fly, chances are your clipboard is already full. Search for the rdpclip.exe under the Processes of the Task Manager then end the task. This problem may have been brought by copying contents of the clipboard to and from the host and remote desktops. If you haven't found rdpclip.exe in your host PC, search for the file in the Task Manager of the remote desktop.

Adobe Master Collection CS5

2010-05-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

I just installed Adobe Master Collection CS5 in my Windows 7 OS two days ago. All in all, a total of 9GB is required to install all of the applications in the collection. I haven't fully tinkered the applications. Usually, I just play around with Adobe Photoshop for my photos and Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing. Although one thing to take note of is that some applications are now 64-bit compatible.

Here are the list of applications included in the Master Collection CS5:

Adobe After Effects CS5
Adobe Bridge CS5
Adobe Contribute CS5
Adobe Device Central CS5
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5
Adobe Encore CS5
Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit CS5
Adobe Extension Manager CS5
Adobe Fireworks CS5
Adobe Flash Builder 4
Adobe Flash Catalyst CS5
Adobe Flash Professional CS5
Adobe Illustrator CS5
Adobe InDesign CS5
Adobe Media Encoder CS5
Adobe OnLocation CS5
Adobe Pixel Bender Toolkit 2
Adobe Photoshop CS5 (64-bit)
Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
Adobe Soundbooth CS5
Mocha for Adobe After Effects CS5

How to Play Mafa Tower Defense

2010-05-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Mafa TD Queen is a custom map made in Warcraft 3. Its a game that can be played individually or cooperatively upto 11 players whose main objective is to create towers to kill the creeps coming out before it reaches the portal like many other tower defense games.

Initially you and your entire team will be given 40 lives meaning you have 40 chances of being spared and not allowing the creeps to pass by the portal to finish the game. You'll be given the chance to create a Technology Tower which can be upgraded twice to reach Level 3 and create towers to defend and later on have the chance to summon custom builders and heroes to help you with defending your base.

Currently, the most famous version being played is version 4.5 Ultra Hard which features three modes: Hard, Extra Hard and Ultra Hard. After choosing the difficulty, you can customarily type -reveal to reveal the entire map to you and your allies. Take note that the player assigned with the Red color will be in charge of the middle which is a very important position in the game and which also has the priviledge of extra money.

Here are the list of towers you can build in Mafa TD 4.5:
- Cutter Tower
- Tower of Vengeance
- Flame Tower
- Ice Tower
- Poison Tower
- Lightning Tower
- Arrow Tower
- Super Splash Tower
- Super Damage Tower
- Elfame Keep
- Gaia Tower
- NecroMonger Tower
- Gaia Shop
- Pirate Tower

Lightning tower is specifically required to upgrade your Technology Center whle Poison tower can be upgraded to Noob Furion to increase the chances of gold returned to you so you can have more money to be spent. Cutter towers are fast and often built by those allies near the base since it is a fast creep killer.

While these towers help you defend your base, chances are you need the help of these four non-hero characters that you can summon aside from your builder. Aside from building, these characters have specific purposes:
- Fujiko - is able to see invisible units.
- Pirate of the Greedy Queen - capable of building the Pirate tower and stunning ground units.
- Naga Summon Maiden - has a net and whisper capability to disable air units while stun for ground units.
- Mr. Freaks - capable of creating the portal to summon the Brilliant Goddess and other special towers specifically Gaia tower, NecroMonger tower and the Gaia Shop.

Of course, nothing beats a movable, item-equipped character who damages like a tower and upgrades your towers into specific builds. Sad thing though, you can only summon a single hero in the game. Even if you activate the food cheat in single player mode, you won't be able to summon all of them in a single game. So choose wisely.
- Queen of the Seventh Hell
- Queen of Greed
- Lich Queen
- The Brilliant Goddess

If you'd like to play cooperatively, create or join games in Garena Philippines War3 Custom Map Tree Tag rooms.

Microsoft Certified Professional Certification

2010-05-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

A few hours ago, I took and passed the 70-536 - Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation. Currently, if you pass the 70-536 exam, you'll be considered as a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

This is only the first of five steps on how to become a certfied MCPDEA. Here are the list of exams you need to pass for the MCPDEA track:

70-536 - Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation
70-526 - Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Windows-Based Client Development
70-528 - Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 – Web-Based Client Development
70-529 - Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Distributed Application Development
70-549 - Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework

After passing all these exams, you'll be receiving the following titles:
MCP - Microsoft Certified Professional
MCTS - Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
MCPD-EA - Microsoft Certified Professional Developer Enterprise Applications

Good luck and have fun studying! Of course having been certified is a plus factor but nothing beats actual work experience.

Dual Booting Windows XP 32-bit And Windows 7 64-bit

2010-04-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

A month and a week ago, I installed Windows 7 on my PC on top of my Windows XP set-up. If you're wondering about the specifications of my PC, you can refer to this previous post. Installation went fast and smooth except for a few roadblocks along the way:

I wanted to install Windows 7 on a separate partition in my hard disk however I had trouble getting my 640GB hard disk to fully maximize its capacity because I thought Windows XP supports partitioning of a single hard disk into more than four. I had to repartition my hard disk because I was using four partitions, which was the maximum for Windows XP, but was only using up to 400GB of space.

After repartition was successful through Disk Management, I inserted the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 64-bit set-up and booted my PC. Everything else was a breeze. Windows 7 asked me to point to the specific partition to where I want to run Windows 7 to since I chose to keep Windows XP in my PC. Being a blogger myself, I recorded the time of installation and to my surprise it only took me 19 minutes 22.9 seconds to install Windows 7. Considering this is my first time installing an operating system greater than the size of a CD, this is surely fast compared to installing Windows XP.

Up until now, the boot up and shutdown time for Windows 7 have been particularly fast even with these applications installed in Windows 7:

1. Visual Studio 2008 SP1
2. Windows Azure SDK - February 2010 CTP
3. uTorrent
4. Adobe Lightroom
5. Mozilla Firefox
6. Silverlight 3 SDK

Well, I guess that's it. The reason why I upgraded to Windows 7 is because I'm working with Windows Azure and since its minimum requirement is to run in Visual Studio 2008 and Windows Vista, I decided now is the time upgrade to Windows 7.

Future Title Contenders in the NBA

2010-02-28T08:48:00.001-08:00

While we are two months away from the 2009-10 NBA Playoffs, let's fast forward to the future five to seven years from now on and see what teams will be having the most potential with their current lineups.

Any team with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade - With James and Wade finally in their prime during these years, they'll look to contend and head for at least a couple of years to leave the NBA with their own legacy.

Atlanta Hawks - Although five years from now, their youthful team will be almost past their prime, I guess they should still be worth looking forward to. The surprise playoff contenders three years ago will become a force to reckon with in the Eastern Conference if Joe Johnson resigns with them and they get a decent young point guard to run their offense once Mike Bibby retires. Already, they are conference contenders with their athletic young lineup growing more mature with strong playoff experiences behind them building.

Oklahoma Thunder - The trio of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook has proven to be something to look forward to. And it's fascinating that they have built a strong chemistry and a humble team with the right attitude. Of course GM Sam Presti's youth movement wonders are yet to be put to test unlike that of the Blazers but with a wise combination of key role players and just a starting center and shooting guard/ point guard away, their guaranteed to be a force to reckon with. Dropping from the playoffs this season is near impossibility since the Blazers, Rockets and Hornets were injury-plagued but imagine having a shot at John Wall or Evans Turner and they'll likely be unstoppable in the future given they can both fill in the gaps for the Thunder quickly. Wall will be their starting point guard while Westbrook will slide to the shooting guard spot.

Portland Trailblazers - The Blazers started with the right formula for the youth movement in this era by carefully making wise decisions on draft picks. However, with Greg Oden's injury-riddled career, it's all up to Brandon Roy if he'll become a legitimate superstar in the years to come. The center position is still something that needs to be filled given Greg Oden's status but like the Thunder, they also need a point guard badly who will complement Roy. Signing Andre Miller is still a wrong move for me because it hindered the growth of Jerryd Bayless who may or may not be the future point guard they're looking for. It also served as a panic cap space filler made by GM Kevin Pritchard. Bayless is a scoring point guard and while he has shown flashes of brilliance, what Roy needs is a pass-first guard. Given a slim chance at getting John Wall, it can be an option should they continue to falter in the playoff race.

New Jersey Nets - Even with the worst NBA record this season and probably will be the worst record in the NBA history, this team has a lot of potential to look forward to espcially with Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee and Devin Harris as their core players. Should LeBron James or Dwayne Wade or Joe Johnson decide to leave their respective teams, they should consider joining the Nets especially if they get the No. 1 Draft Pick for the 2010 NBA Draft. The only problem I'm seeing here is if Lee never surpasses the slump he's currently experiencing right now given his displeasure with him being traded by the Orlando Magic and if Harris ever gets a full season without having any major injuries occuring.

Minnesota Timberwolves - GM David Kahn and Kurt Rambis are still yet to find the right roster for this team given the abundance of talented players they have. Amongst all the young teams today, they have the most important pieces which are hard to find in this league - the big men. Kevin Love, Al Jefferson and even an intriguing potential for Darko Milicic makes them an envy of other young teams. As they wait for the right go-to guy which won't be the case should Ricky Rubio decide to play with them in the next two years, they'll still be in the bubble as an eighth seed for the playoffs in the future.

A Golden Era of Point Guards in the NBA

2010-02-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

I saw an article in RealGM explaining in detail how to deal with trades and lineups of lottery teams when all of a sudden the projected 2010 No. 1 NBA Draft Pick John Wall falls into their hands and I was excited about the prospect.

In this article, I'll write about the great deal of abundance of quality point guards that NBA is currently experiencing. Who knows, maybe the NBA won't be able to experience this kind of abundance of competitive on-the-floor generals.

We'll start of with the veteran point guards. While they've lost a lot of they're flashy penetrations and were way past their primes, they make it up with a richer NBA court vision experience.

1. Jason Kidd (9.8 PPG, 9.2 APG, 5.2 RPG, 1.9 SPG) - I'm a Mavericks fan and while it's tough to swallow the trade for giving up Devin Harris, I must say as seasons go by, Jason Kidd has become the much needed pass-first point guard of the team. He might not be an offensive force as he once was but his brilliant court vision has led them into proper execution of the Mavs' offense.

2. Steve Nash (17.6 PPG, 11.2 APG, 3.3 RPG, 0.5 SPG) - The run and gun Suns have been kind of rejuvenated this season with Steve Nash resigning for the Suns for three more years. It also benefitted Nash's stats as well. He was one of the reasons why Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and even coach Mike D'Antoni became popular and received quite hefty contracts for themselves with his penetrate, pass and shoot offensive prowess. Although, most of the players mentioned above are now in their own different teams, it is clear to see that only Joe Johnson has been stellar and others struggled to find their rhythm because they miss the run and gun system that Nash runs in the Suns. This will also be a good reason to note that maybe Amar'e Stoudamire will also struggle if he ever leaves the Suns.

3. Chauncey Billups (20.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG) - Despite the recent injury, his career revival in his hometown Denver has been amazing. He helped quickly transform the Nuggets into title contenders in just a couple of years. His instant offense and clutch shooting have been the biggest factors along with his transformation of Carmelo Anthony into a more mature franchise player.

4. Tony Parker (16.5 PPG, 5.8 APG, 2.4 RPG, 0.6 SPG) - Parker has been a key part of the Spurs Dynasty. He's torched other teams at the latter part of his career because of his improved jump shots. He is considered as one of the best point guards during their dynasty and underrated too although he has this season fading because of his recent injuries.

5. Mike Bibby (8.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 2.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG) - It's worth noting that while his numbers are low, he has at least stabilized and help establish Atlanta as a key playoff contender in the Eastern Conference together with Joe Johnson.

6. Andre Miller (13.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG) - With his recent acquisition by the Blazers, it is unclear why GM Kevin Pritchard chose him to spend the $10M of cap space given Steve Blake's (who was recently traded) effective chemistry on the floor with their franchise player Brandon Roy and burgeoning scoring point guard Jerryd Bayless. But as the injuries take a toll in the Blazers, he provided a cushion for the team with his offense judging from his 52 point career high performance against the Mavs.

Starting with Chris Paul, here are some of the steady point guards that NBA teams have come to rely on:

1. Chris Paul (20.4 PPG, 11.2 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG) - Playing only 38 games this year and still injured, Paul has helped transform the Hornets into playoff contenders. He also revived the career of Peja Stojakovic and David West. Despite the watered down lineup of New Orleans, he is still considered as the best point guard in the NBA today that every team wants to have.

2. Deron Williams (18.4 PPG, 10.0 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.1 SPG) - While currently, Utah's lineup is better than Paul's Hornets. It's clear that Deron is what the Jazz needed - a big physical type of point guard. Besides, his numbers are clearly almost evenly matched with Paul's.

3. Rajon Rondo (14.1 PPG, 9.8 APG, 4.4 RPG, 2.5 SPG) - With the Big Three slowing down, he has blossomed into a legitimate franchise player for the Celtics. He peaked in last year's playoffs and averaged almost triple-doubles with Garnett's absence. His defensive awareness has led him to lead the point guards in steals. Despite all these, many still question his maturity off the court and his outside shooting.

4. Derrick Rose (20.0 PPG, 5.8 APG, 3.9 RPG, 0.8 SPG) - The 2008 NBA No. 1 Draft Pick and Chicago's starting point guard has definitely become a luring factor for Wade to return to his homeland should he leave the Heat.

5. Jameer Nelson (12.1 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.7 RPG, 0.8 SPG) - The starting point guard of the Orlando Magic became quite a sensation even getting an All-Star consideration before getting injured during their championship run last season. Despite being small, he has been the Robin of the Batman tandem with Dwight Howard although he often gets injured which is why the Magic always relies heavily on veteran backup point guards.

6. Aaron Brooks (19.4 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.6 RPG, 0.9 SPG) - Brooks has definitely reaped in the absence of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming on the floor for the Houston Rockets. Despite his size, his scoring instincts has made him his team's go to guy with only Luis Scola and Trevor Ariza as complementary scorers.

While Paul and the gang are definitely much more experienced on the NBA floor, these are the point guards of the future to watch out for:

1. Russell Westbrook (16.5 PPG, 7.7 APG, 5.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG) - Westbrook is following the footsteps of Paul who's following the footsteps of Kidd. Although he isn't the franchise player of their team, he is doing everything else as the complementary Robin for Durant. He is averaging almost triple doubles with only his sophomore year in the NBA. A highly underrated player especially in the competitive list of top-notch point guards in the West.

2. Tyreke Evans (20.3 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG) - The top candidate to win, and almost guaranteed to, this year's Rookie of the Year award has proven to his team, the Sacramento Kings, that he is their franchise player and it was proven even more with Kevin Martin's shipping to the Rockets. What has gotten more interesting about this guy is he's a hybrid of a point guard and shooting guard and already even in his first year in the NBA, he has developed a killer instinct to close out games and still has the humility which is important during a player's early years in playing in the NBA.

3. Brandon Jennings (16.4 PPG, 6.1 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG) - His 55 point career high game in his early rookie career proved that he is definitely legit. Despite foregoing a year to stay and play in NCAA and instead play in the Euroleague where he can earn money, he proved that playing with real men instead of playing with ballers at his age is a valuable experience which carried over in the NBA. Since his dazzling performance, he settled down and probably has hit the rookie wall today with opponents already prepared for their game plan against him. Nevertheless, I still can see Allen Iverson in him and his somewhat erratic shots.

4. Stephen Curry (15.5 PPG, 5.3 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG) - Curry has been known as the scoring point guard even before coming to the NBA. His outside shooting is superb for a player who's in his first year in the NBA. Because of his small size, Monta Ellis has criticized the Golden State Warriors for picking him up and not picking a complementary player to play alongside him who is currently the franchise player of the team. But now, he's proven he can co-exist with Monta even averaging a whopping 35.2 MPG on the court which was expected of Don Nelson for his habit of overstaying quality players on the court evidenced by Monta.

5. Jonny Flynn (13.8 PPG, 4.3 APG, 2.5 RPG, 1.1 SPG) - The absence of Ricky Rubio has definitely earned him the starting point guard of the Wolves. While even he himself fancies on being together with Rubio on the court, he has been a sturdy point guard for them. Anyway, if Rubio will come in to join them, Flynn will slide on to the shooting guard spot which is quite intriguing since he also said he can do it himself.

6. Ty Lawson (9.2 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.1 RPG, 0.8 SPG) - Despite only logging the fewest minutes, 22.0 MPG, in the top draft picks, he is almost surely to be the Nuggets' starting point guard as Billups gets ready for retirement. His speed has killed teams with older point guards in which he compensates to with his small size. He has proven to be a great backup point guard today who provides instant offense off the bench for the Nuggets which was proven when Billups got injured.

7. Darren Collison (9.8 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.4 RPG, 0.9 SPG) - No one totally knew who he was until Chris Paul got injured. Don't be fooled by his stats here as he has proven to be a very good starting point guard for the Hornets while Paul is currently injured. Posting numbers of almost triple-doubles almost makes me disappointed that he should be starting for other teams like Indiana who badly needs an upgrade in the point guard slot.

While these players haven't played in the NBA, they're still worth mentioning here:

1. Ricky Rubio - Rubio is perhaps the most intriguing foreigh prospect to ever want to play in the NBA today. The young Spanish guard has torched players of his age with an astonishing quadruple double in the championship game of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Tournament. He is also a backup point guard in the official Spanish team and has already fought against Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Jason Kidd in the basketball championship of the Beijing Olympics 2008. Despite his very wide court vision and defensive prowess, he is still a question mark to scouts to the point of questioning whether he can fit in to the physical game that the NBA offers and handcheck fouling which is prohibited in the league in which he is very good at as an onball defender.

2. John Wall - Callipari, his head coach at University of Kentucky, has spoken glowingly of him. The projected and almost surely to be the No. 1 draft pick of the NBA 2010 Draft has even been told to not need instructions from his coach to run the offense of their team. He is often compared to Derrick Rose and what surprises me is that they say he's better than Rose.

The theory of every team getting topnotch quality point guards is coming closer to becoming true with the large number of guards more prepared to play in the NBA while centers are proving to be a rare gem these days as they often become injured or proven as not living up to their potential. The only problem for the GMs would be to find a perfect fit of core players to surround and complement them.

*Stats were take from Yahoo Sports from the 2009-10 NBA Season as of February 27, 2010.

Dissecting the Anatomy of Modern Programming Languages

2010-02-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

If you're new to programming and you're having a difficulty learning the current mainstream languages, chances are, you've hit a wall and haven't gotten an idea on where to start. Hopefully this article will help you lower that wall and better understand the concepts surrounding these languages.

Having been into development as a profession for almost five years now and as an avid fan of programming languages, despite all these new languages constantly being released, there are only two core syntax you need to learn and these are the following:

- C/C++
- Basic

Having yourself enriched with the fundamentals and mastery of these two core syntax, you'll most likely achieve an ease of understanding with almost any new programming languages being released in the computing industry.

C is a very old and yet one of the most influential language of all time. Of course having limitations of its own, it has evolved into C++, hence the "plus plus" sign. With the demand for object-oriented programming style rising and a variety of flavors of operating systems and platforms coming out, Sun has developed a multi-platform language based on C++ popularly known as Java. With a syntax very much close to the heart of a lot of developers, and a nifty feature in which you can run a compiled version of your source code basically on any platform as long as you have the Java runtime installed in it, Java has been successful in the revival of the C syntax as the premiere language of choice by the developers.

Microsoft, who has been on the background with Sun's success and having been developed Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro and Visual C++, attempted to encourage developers to migrate to Microsoft products by implementing Visual J++. However, of course with Java's main advantage of running executable programs on any platform and J++ unable to bring this advantage to other platforms, it has been short-lived. But all this changed with the advent of Microsoft's .NET framework. Embracing the C++ syntax, Microsoft developed perhaps one of the most influential languages they've ever developed, the C#. C# is a language also based on the C syntax. And with the .NET framework and almost similar approach to Java, the company has finally and perhaps successfully attracted Java developers to shift into C#.

With Java being stagnant for quite some time now and programming on the internet increasingly becoming popular, some developers were not ready to jump into the C# bandwagon. Hence, PHP emerged. PHP is a server-side scripting language which is open-source meaning anyone can fork, view and modify the language itself to suit for themselves. It mostly resembles the C syntax and is quite a popular choice as it is the cheapest to maintain in terms of development costs for companies investing in the internet. And with PHP becoming a force to reckon with, of course companies have offered their own brand of server-side scripting. Sun released JSP (Java Server Pages) which resembles Java, only an implementation on the internet and Microsoft released what many of us know now as ASP.NET.

Still doubting on studying the C/C++ syntax? How about searching for Google's new programming language - Go and Microsoft's "Adobe Flash"-killer Silverlight? These two are also great grandsons of the C family and will presumably be something worth watching out for.

On the otherhand, while C has been embraced by most of the developers, many have still yearned for a syntax which is English-like and that of COBOL. BASIC was developed by a variety of companies but one of the most common was of Borland's implementation. BASIC stands for Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. One of the most popular implementation of it was Microsoft's Visual Basic. With Windows becoming more and more popular as a household operating system, developers wanted a rapid application development language and Visual Basic was the right tool for them. It even evolved into developement of Macros which are small snippets of implementation of Basic into Microsoft Office products which were for the purpose of achieving automation.

Although Basic was quite frankly less popular than C, Microsoft has still been its advocate even implementing it on the web through ASP (Active Server Pages) and even on the advent of the .NET framework, they've improved the support for Basic with the implementation of Visual Basic.NET which was a popular choice for developers who were Visual Basic developers and at the same time haven't been ready enough to jump into C# during those times. Quite a handful of development tools have evolved from Basic and one of the popular ones was Mercery QuickTest Pro which was an automation tool used mainly for testing purposes.

As years go by, the emergence of a very powerful and dynamic language known as Python was released. It is an open-source language which I'd like to categorize as a mixture of C and Basic. As a friend of mine suggests, it is a cleaner version of Java, hence many developers were quick to embrace it and one of its proud customer? Google. I'd probably say it's quick to learn Python for its strict advocacy for readability but you have to give it a try for yourself and see how great and promising this is.

C/C++ and Basic. If you want to go and delve deeper into the world of programming, welcome aboard. Embrace these two syntax and you'll likely be quick to learn new programming languages surfacing every now and then. Hope this article provided quite a heck of a history to prove that these two are the foundations of modern programming languages.

The Sims celebrates its 10th Anniversary

2010-02-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

Just a quick look and tribute to the Sims franchise. More power to the Sims franchise and hope it goes a long way!

Mike Wang returns to 2K Sports

2010-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Articles can be found here:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6249192.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=hot-stories&tag=hot-stories%3Bstory%3B1
http://www.operationsports.com/feature.php?id=1006

The moment I read the title of this GameSpot article, I saw images of the NBA Live franchise fading as one of my favorite video games. Clearly, if there is a definition of being a loyal gamer to NBA Live, I think I belong to that category. But this has to be one of the most disappointing moves by EA Sports.

Just when they were on the verge of righting its ship and redeeming the legend that NBA Live once was, they let Mike Wang slip away. And the reason for his leaving? OperationSports has got it covered. 'Nuff said:

"Mike: After NBA Live 10 wrapped up and we started going through the pre-production planning phase for '11, we held several meetings to discuss the future of the franchise. After going through those meetings, it became very clear that the vision I had for the game was different from where the leadership wanted to take it. I parted ways with EA shortly after and came back on-board with the NBA 2K team last November."

Definitely, the EA Sports management does not care about bringing quality back to its basketball video game franchise. Mike Wang was the lead game designer of NBA Live 10 and obviously it has gotten really good reviews and there is now a bright future for the franchise. Sure NBA Live 11 will still have Beluba's (Mike Wang) influence in the game but with his departure, what will NBA Live 12 look like? Obviously, in the last decade while being a loyal fan of NBA Live, the game has progressed very slowly. It came to a point where it needed pirating of the competitor's lead designer to radically influence the entire staff to overhaul NBA Live as it is.

This has to leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Probaby NBA Live 11 will still look good but Beluba's departure and his reasons of leaving will make me shift to NBA 2K. Even my fellow OperationSports forum posters were definitely upset about it.

So what do we expect of NBA Live on the future? Unless Mike Wang's departure didn't make a slap on the face of reality in their quality of video games and make an effort to completely turn around their games, they will continue to have just gimmicks and shallow gameplay on their video games.

Microsoft VIP Blogger's Night

2010-02-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2010 - 16/F 6750 Microsoft Office and Exchange Room - This was the first time I have attended a Microsoft event so I was excited about this one. I really didn't know what to expect in these types of events that Microsoft offers monthly. Luckily, I didn't feel like a first-timer after the dinner. Bloggers were invited as their audience and the speakers told us that this was also a first to them - bringing an audience of consumers instead of MIcrosoft technology developers attending. It was the other way around as I thought many of the bloggers knew each other before the event because they've been attending blogging events together as a fellow blogger thought of the fellow blogger attendees as "regulars". And I thought they were also developers as well who were "regulars" to Microsoft talks.

Judging from the audience, it was quite obvious that the product of showcase by Microsoft would be its latest Microsot Office release - the Office 2010 which is only in beta. Some of the features that very well interested me about their product was MS Powerpoint's ability to do on the fly photo editing ala Adobe Photoshop and video editing ala Adobe Premiere/ Windows Movie Maker. Incorporating the basics of these two make Powerpoint even more powerful with its multimedia capability. One thing which interests me most about the video feature is its ability to be embedded on the fly on the slides and actually play them without opening Windows Media Player. The only thing bothering me is why do you want to edit the video on the fly in Powerpoint when there's the built-in quite handy Windows Media Player?

Other products such as Office Web Apps and Windows Live Essentials were also promoted. Now, these products I think will definitely help the bloggers as well. You don't need to have Microsoft Office installed in your PC. You are actually editing the Office documents on the fly on your browser. What's even more good about it is the ability to share content and work on the same file simultaneously. As you all know, this feature is also similar to Google Docs and Google Pack but hey who doesn't use Microsoft Office and who doesn't want Office to go online?

Bloggers attending also received a Microsoft Office 2010 Beta installer with an Internet Explorer cap. Well, I guess that's about it. I'll definitely be looking forward to attending more Microsoft seminars. To wrap it up, I guess Microsoft has been aligning its products into what the trend is all about - going online and making the browser one of the most powerful software ever developed.

Windows Azure CTP extended through April 2010

2010-01-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

Great news for developers hoping to spend more time in tinkering with the Windows Azure SDK - the CTP is extended until April 2010 if you're from these locations.

I'll be posting some tutorials on how to develop in Azure especially with its storage services such as blob, table and queue. For the meantime, this is a great opportunity to delve in to the world of cloud computing the Microsoft way as other cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services and SalesForce.com are already on commercial release.

Windows Azure Pay-Per-Use to Start this February 2010

2010-01-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

As of this writing, we only have exactly 15 days to play around with Windows Azure. Beginning February this year, Windows Azure will finally go commercial. You can read the entire article here for the pricing details.

Windows Azure is Microsoft's implementation of cloud computing. One of its notable features is its storage services which are of prime importance with regards to the cloud computing business. If you have time, you can download the Windows Azure SDK and tinker around with it which is one of its great advantage - running a local development fabric on your computer to simulate what is going to happen in the cloud.

If you have Visual Studio 2008 and an OS of Windows Vista, Server 2008 or Windows 7, you can give it a try. It's worth it. It has tutorials on how to create cloud-based applications which practically is very similar to creating web-based applications. Also worth noting would be its interoperability with PHP. It has PHP-support thru FastCGI so you can deploy a site created out of PHP into the cloud.

Next-Gen Nintendo DS to feature Motion Sensing

2010-01-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

According to the report, as translated by GameSpot, Iwata told the paper that the DS successor could be expected to feature a "high level of visual quality," as well as sensors to read a player's movements.

You can read the entire article here.

This is great news for the handheld gaming industry and handheld gamers as well. It is also important to note that the "high level of visual quality" is a huge step forward for Nintendo since they are the last to boost their graphical performance against Sony and Microsoft. Also, this could probably be something brought about by Microsoft's release of Zune HD which was Microsoft's answer to Apple's iPod Touch. In the meantime, iTouch and iPhone are pretty much attracting game developers with their motion sensing. Nintendo's next-gen handheld console with the new motion sensing will probably be the start of serious game development featuring games with motion sensing capabilities in the handheld industry.

Next-Gen Console Ideas

2010-01-03T05:39:00.000-08:00

While Nintendo has been rumored to be working on an HD version of the Wii and Sony and Microsoft has been looking forward to adding accessories to their current generation consoles, I'm wondering, like you guys, what will we be expecting in the next-generation consoles?

Nintendo's Wii is a sure hall of famer to the short-listed best consoles ever produced. With its unique motion-sensing feature, many non-gamers jumped into console gaming. However, as a sign of aging and due to lack of future technological advances, third party developers tend to sway away from the idea that it is a console for hardcore gamers. Meanwhile, if you're a casual gamer, do you turn into Microsoft XBox 360 or Sony Playstation 3 for gaming? Graphics-wise, you'll probably jump into buying one of these consoles but fun factor? An obvious answer would be "No". That is why both these companies are now targeting the casual audience and creating accessories for them.

Now I'd like to give some ideas on how next-generation consoles are made up of?

Hardware

Storage-wise, I'd say go embrace the Blu-Ray technology. Content-heavy games are always in demand for most gamers. So 25GB of pure gaming content is a necessity for the console. Graphics-wise, I'd say go for the average - way above Wii's hardware, definitely at par with PS3's graphics. Even until now, only very few games were able to maximize PS3's graphics hardware. Controller-wise, now this is something to be treated with utmost confidentiality. Wiimote must have been kept secret for the longest time for us gamers and the gaming media. Chances are, the success of the console may be heavily dependent on the controller and its capabilities. But since Wii did it with necessity, so must the next-gen console be - motion-sensing and vibration. Many of you wouldn't agree to some of the add-ons I would like to have but anyway here are some of it:

Indicators - Since all controllers now are wireless, I think it wouldn't hurt if they have some indicators when then battery is running low or providing some information about the game their playing.

Creative buttons - How many games actually use the "Select" button extensively these days? Only a few right? What if we replace some of the buttons we have been used to seeing with sensible ones.

Multi-touch screen - I think its usage would still be a concern but who knows it's just a suggestion.

Games

There are a lot of genres for games nowadays but the gamers I think are still divided into three: social apps, casual and hardcore gamers. Social apps gamers are those who just plug in their pc, log on to Facebook or any site and play social apps. Imagine if the console you're creating is a social app-friendly and has heavy tie-ups on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Top social apps developers Zynga and Playfish may be involved in the discussion as well. Homebrew games should also be encouraged as well.

Don't you think it's time to boost up campaign for creation of new franchise games for casual and hardcore gamers? I know it is hard to conceptualize games per se and build on it as a franchise but hey third party developers such as Square Enix, EA and Rockstar North. Even Nintendo has to really come up with a new set of franchise games. Mario and Zelda need major revamps, God of War and Halo must be extended more to the casual audience.

Finally, gamers are the most important part of the console business. Interaction through communities is a necessity for its continued success. Continued invention and innovation is the key towards driving that success further.

NBA Season 2008-09: The Balance between Eastern and Western Conference

2009-12-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

I just watched a Yahoo Sports interview with Kenny Smith and Marc Spears regarding the top teams in the NBA. To my surprise, what I was supposed to be writing a few months ago was exactly what Kenny Smith has been talking about in the interview. Well, I guess every avid NBA fan knows about it though but I just would like to stress out that what Kenny has been telling us is a fact thru statistics.

In the last regular season of the NBA, teams get to play with their conference opponents 52 games out of a possible 82 games while the 30 games are against opponents outside their conference. Combining these simple statistics with the knowledge of the rosters in the NBA for both conferences, I'd say it's pretty obvious that an NCAA format of tournament rankings should have been implemented instead. Of course if this would be possible, in which I doubt would be happening in the soonest possible time, conference games would be narrowed down. But in reality, it's more than just a mere tweaking of the playoff arrangements. Of course that format will cost way lots of money than the current conference and division set-ups.

Going back, I think the only way we could see the balance between both conferences now would be on the emphasis on the quality of the GMs in their respective conferences and salary cap of course. Taking a look at franchise building, it's amazing how the Portland Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder have delighted us by turning their teams to playoff contenders especially in the Western conference. Kevin Pritchard and Sam Presti have done remarkable jobs at constructing their teams. Sam Presti is deserving to win this year's GM of the Year if not for Daryl Morey's surprisingly better team Houston Rockets riding oft-injured franchise players Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Teams from the Eastern Conference, with the emergence and downfall of the Detroit Pistons and the rising of franchise players such as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh, have done simply nothing to improve their teams except for the almost effortless Boston Celtics reconstruction. Instead of taking advantage of the predictable decline of the Pistons, Eastern conference GMs were contented with minor tweaks and settling for a subpar record but a playoff opportunity. Chicago Bulls should have been strongly contending, so should the Toronto Raptors and the disappointing Washington Wizards who gave up tons of money for a fake franchise player Gilbert Arenas. And while many people and analysts consider Atlanta Hawks as a powerhouse team, I don't. This team should have also taken care of its homework. With its current roster, it's impossible for them to compete against the Celtics, Magic and the Cavaliers. They are happy to be bullying the Eastern conference with their lineup and beat playoff contenders such as the Miami Heat. This team is supposed to be strong but put it in the Western conference and it's just an eighth-seeded team going into playoffs.

Western conference GMs took the other way around. While the Los Angeles Lakers have been consistently beefing up their roster, other teams took the challenge head on and beefed up their rosters too. After Shaq got traded to the Eastern conference, many would have thought the Texas triumvirate San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets and the Phoenix Suns would have clearly dominated the NBA but things have changed pretty fast when Memphis Grizzlies threw away Pau Gasol for the younger Marc Gasol which is now actually starting to pay off. Denver Nuggets went from first round playoff contenders to a sudden conference finals contenders by acquiring Chauncey Billups and finally a healthy roster. The Spurs are again a team to watch out for after having been acquired Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. A lot of Western conference GMs took no season to relax their budget by making bold moves in their roster as they attempt to squeeze out the best out of their franchise players during their primes such as Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Roy, Kevin Durant and an already declining Spurs dynasty.

Having these things been pointed out, Eastern conference powerhouse teams Magic, Celtics and Cavs will have fresher legs come Finals time since their starters are well-rested while developing their bench players as the season goes on. The trend for lower tier Eastern conference teams will still be the same for the years to come unless they start on not relying too much on the NBA draft. They've got LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and have the up and coming Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings but the Western conference still have gotten the better of these recent drafts - Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Andrew Bynum and Tyreke Evans.

Canon Powershot G11

2009-12-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

The new top of the line Canon point and shoot camera has been released. The review can be found here.

Here's my two cents about the camera:
1. Trimming down of 14.7MP to 10MP. While an ordinary user may always tend to max out the image size to 14.7MP, users with past experience of using cameras may tend to disagree about it. It's a good idea to focus on the other functions of the camera but the trimming down will lessen its attraction to a newbie to cameras. Ordinary users do not usually go to Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to post-process their still images. The highest possible megapixel resolution is advised for users who do post-processing and cropping of pictures. Let's face it, while you always have the largest resolution of photos taken, other people won't be able to see it online because photo sharing sites won't allow you to store very large photos unless you have premium accounts or viewers won't always zoom in and take that in-depth look at every photo. So what's left? A thumbnail resolution - trimmed down version of your photo. So for me, it's okay to have the megapixel trim down.

2. Low light mode. I actually haven't used and seen this camera yet but I'm looking forward to using this mode. It's a great thing especially for those users who often take shots at night.

3. Finally, with all the hype surrounding Panasonic LX3 and the arrival of G11 and other high-end point and shoot cameras, if you love to shoot to places where a DLSR is prohibited, compact cameras are the best option and love taking whatever has captured your attention, then go for these cameras.

Microsoft File Transfer Manager

2009-11-28T00:58:00.000-08:00

Just doing a quick post/tip here. Whenever you want to download large files using your MSDN account, it is best to use Internet Explorer. The ActiveX control Microsoft File Transfer Manager will then be prompted for installation. In this way, you will be able to pause and resume your downloads just like any normal file transfer.

Warcraft Patch 1.24 and the future of DotA

2009-08-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

Warcraft patch 1.24 has been released. Every previous version of DotA won't work on the latest patch that's why IceFrog is now preparing for the new version to work on the latest patch. This will be the start of the patch upgrades of all the DotA players as well as the LAN shop owners to the latest patch because the new version will definitely only work on 1.24. In addition to this, the map size limit upgrade from 4mb to 8mb is a huge help for IceFrog since newer heroes and additional gameplay requires additional space on the map.

We've seen a lot of changes recently in the game. Lots of remade skills for old heroes and new heroes were added at the same time. But still, the latest stable map is 6.59d. While many of us have welcomed the recent changes, a few others still play 6.59d. And since this is the latest stable map, this is also the map being used most of the time in official tournaments. With this, I hope that there will be more gameplays and skills added to increase the uniqueness of each hero.

Jump to .NET

2009-08-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Starting on the next month, I'll be fully engaged in .NET projects. It has been four years of development in COBOL, QuickTest Professional and a little bit of C#. I'm looking forward to giving this blog a ramp up in terms of technical articles relating to .NET and other related stuff.

In the meantime, I'll try to write COBOL and CL tutorials in general as a tribute to my work there. It's been fun writing codes for procedural programming and as I move on to OOP, yet again, I'm bringing with me the respect, understanding and great knowledge I gained from legacy languages.

How to use Warcraft Version Switcher

2009-08-02T00:39:00.000-07:00

Warcraft Version Switcher allows you to have multiple versions of Warcraft without having to install the game multiple times. Why is there a need to do so? Well, there are various reasons on why I think gamers use this but some of the reasons are as follows:

1. Playing in different Garena rooms. Currently in the Philippines, Warcraft patch 1.20, which is probably the oldest most used patch these days, is needed to be able to play in the pubs. So if you want to downgrade to 1.20, you need to use Warcraft Version Switcher.

2. Watching custom map replays. Tournament games are always played with the latest available patch of Warcraft and you won't be able to watch replays of these games if your patch version is older than theirs. Sometimes, when you had a good game in Garena, you also save your own games and watch the replays and chances are it has a different version than that of the tourney games.

3. Avoiding maphacks. With Warcraft patch 1.23 and the upcoming release of 1.24, the majority of the update is on the custom map maphacks. These versions allows the game to detect differences between originally made custom maps and those that are "purposely" modified to inject cheats in the game.

Installation Procedures:

1. Back to the installation, just download and extract Warcraft Version Switcher in any of your folders.

2. Search for zipped files of the Warcraft patches preferably 1.20 to 1.23. You need these zipped files instead of the downloadable executable files because it contains the following files:

Game.dll, Storm.dll, War3.exe and War3Patch.mpq

3. You don't need to extract these patches on your local drive. Just store them in the WVS folder of your Warcraft Version Switcher.

4. Lastly, open the wvs.exe. Click the Switch version and choose the patch you want to use by double-clicking it. Open the Reign of Chaos or Frozen Throne icon on the right part of WVS.

5. After the game launches, verify the patch version on the lower right side of the screen. This is the version of the Warcraft patch you have chosen. Have fun!

NBA Video Game Ideas Part 1

2009-08-02T00:10:00.000-07:00

As much as we all want to have all those detailed information in a video game, chances are only 20% or maybe 5% of the requests come to life. Here is what I have in mind:

1. Jump ball - Well, NBA 2K Sports has already incorporated this for many years now. How come NBA Live hasn't or probably rejected this idea? I know this rarely happens even in actual NBA games but hey it is still supposed to be included.

2. Technical and Flagrant Fouls - I think I've actually seen technical fouls called in the NBA Live series. I just forgot what year that was. Anyway, besides the defensive three and the excessive timeouts, I think these should be put on the game too and not just the players alone but also the staff specially the coaches. I know they're probably taking this feature away because of it may bring some negative aura to the game and more specifically the NBA but hey, like us, they're also humans who can't always control their temper. Maybe they can have a sort of "impatience" meter for each player and staff as well when things don't go their way or simply just got annoyed with the call. It can also affect the flow of the game in both ways - positively or negatively. Also, since player injuries can actually occur in the game, why not add flagrant fouls too. Also, they can also be rescinded or reduced after the game. Also, have the technical accumulations system in the NBA brought in the game as well. For example, a player has already been called 15 technical fouls in the season, he'll automatically get a one-game suspension.

3. Awkward shots, buzzer beaters and the 0.5-second difference - Have you ever watched actual NBA games wherein impossible shots still go in? Plus a foul? Three-point play or even four-point play? It's not that I'm trying to increase the possibilities of these shots happening frequently in a single game but at least it can still happen. Also, the buzzer beaters for both NBA Live and NBA 2K have been limited because they are not allowing the gamers to continue shooting the ball even after the buzzer sounded. Also, in the actual NBA game, there have countless times wherein less than a second is left in the clock and they are still calling plays. However, this isn't a possibility in the video games. Accuracy in stopping the time should have been better in video games instead of the actual game itself since it only computer generated.

4. Summer Leagues and Pre-season games - Off-season is all about developing skills, finding a potential and building chemistry. And gamers would love to have that experience in their game. The season and playoffs games are what the gamers are really looking forward to. But come offseason time, they look forward for more light and casual games like these playing with potential starters, role players and even discovering undrafted players.

5. Fatigue Factor - The fatigue meter has been in the game for a long time now. However, it is only in a per-game basis. How about accumulating fatigue for the entire season and playoffs? In this way, the video game will be able to replicate the actual NBA season wherein superstars play minimal minutes at the end of the season because the coaches try to get them fresh come playoffs time.

6. Customization galore - Let's face it. EA should be the one who has a lot of advantage in this area of the game. They have Maxis, the creators of the The Sims franchise. Is it too much to ask for a lot of customization for someone who has long been best at customization in simulation games? Maybe they should adopt some of the technologies used in other games they've developed themselves and be able to incorporate it into NBA Live. In Dynasty mode, after the first season, incoming rookies are called only by their numbers. Why not try to develop some sort of speech mechanism for their surnames to be called when the actual game is played? Also, creating an expansion team would be great. It has been present in the early years of the NBA Live series but they haev scraped off the idea eversince.

I think that's about it for now. I'd like to add a lot more. Hope some of these ideas will be considered by the developers.

Hello Quad Core World

2009-07-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

About two months ago, I bought a CPU for myself mainly for development, photography and video editing purposes.

Here are the specifications of the CPU I bought:

Motherboard - [LGA775] Asus P5KPL-AM/PS intel g31 + GbLan
Processor - Intel™Core 2 Quad™ Q8200 2.3 ghz 4mb 1333fsb qdr box (lga775) C2Q
Power Supply - [PSU] HEC 500w Raptor Power
RAM - 2 x Kingston™ 2g ddr2 800
Video Card - 1gb Palit™ GF 9500 GT ddr2 Super (128bit) pcie
Hard disk - 640gb Caviar Green (WD6400ACS) 16mb
Casing - [ATX] HiP (Alien ware-inspired) ATX w/o psu
Writer - [ODD] LG™ 22x dvdrw dual layer sata ls lightscribe

Initially, I had this planned probably because of my addictiveness to Sims 3. I'm planning on doing a triple boot in it to install Windows Vista and Mac OS X to go with my current OS, Windows XP. However, since Microsoft is releasing Windows 7 which is currently in release candidate version, I'm planning to wait for it instead of having Windows Vista. Anyway, the video card is a medium-range one so I think I won't be able to upgrade it for a long time however with the Ion-based video cards that nVidia is advertising right now, if I shift into Adobe CS4, I think I'd go for it. But for now, it's a little too pricey.

How to run ASP.NET on IIS/ Localhost

2009-07-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

1. You need to have IIS installed on your PC to be able to run even classic ASP on your computer.

To do this, go to Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Add/Remove Windows Components. On the Windows Component Wizard, check the Internet Information Services (IIS) option then click the Next button. You need to insert your Windows XP installer in your CD ROM to install it.

Note: You must at least have Windows XP Professional installed in your PC.

2. Next is to verify if you have successfully installed IIS. On your browser, type http://localhost. It should display the default IIS page of Windows.

3. If upon installation of Microsoft Visual Studio and compiling an ASP.NET source code does not display properly or you get error messages in your browser, go to Start -> Run and key in the following:

.Net 1.1: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_regiis.exe -i
.Net 2.0: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regiis.exe -i

It should allow registration of ASP.NET on IIS.

4. Now, try running your source code in Visual Studio again. Your browser should display the ASP.NET pages properly.

Portions of this article came from these sites:
http://community.versionone.com/KnowledgeBase/FAQs/Q10089.aspx
http://www.asp.net/learn/whitepapers/aspnet-and-iis6/

Hope this helps fellow developers out there.

NBA Live 10: What to Expect

2009-07-20T08:32:00.001-07:00

Mike Wang, a former lead game designer from NBA 2K Sports, is now a cast of what is supposed to be the "redeem team" of the NBA Live franchise. This is a big acquisition on the part of EA to dethrone NBA 2K of its supremacy in basketball video games and finally bring back the glory that NBA Live has been in the late 90s.

With the recent updates from the Inside EA Sports bloggers, we now know that they are finally making a serious effort in coming up with a franchise-changing video game. Although the site never featured a single detail yet from the gameplay point of view, they have been emphasizing that this year they have been building the game from its very core. This is real good that NBA 2K has revived the competitive spirit of EA Sports. And sadly, as the game goes gold, I don't expect any major differences from both games at all now. So far, the NBA Live game is incorporating the details that "should have been there" ever since the game was first developed. More and more gamers are now expecting to see gameplay improved and not only that, as real life avid NBA fans of their respective teams, these gamers want the same look and feel of their favorite teams.

With the way it is turning out to be, NBA Live will be at least at par with NBA 2K. Eventhough the details haven't been released, I am expecting a carbon copy of the same features that NBA 2K has been developing in their own video game to the Live series. This is good in that we have two virtually high quality basketball video games. But if you expect a new feature which will blow you away, save your money and wait for at least two more years for the Live series to become the supposed-to-be the best basketball video game out there.

Think about it. Mike Wang is at his early years in NBA Live and as excited as he is about Live's potential, he knows that this franchise still has a lot of things to go through - rework the fundamentals before proceeding with the intricacies of the game. Secondly, he and the whole development team knows that it will be hard to put all the nooks and crannies of the game in a year. Provided that the game receives positive reviews on their first year together, they will definitely be impressing the gamers someday.

But for now, NBA Live is still a work in progress. And with the hype they are trying to create as usual every year, it is starting to be different from before... on a positive note perhaps.

Massive Multiplayer Online Game Idea

2009-07-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

A lot of ideas here and there may be read across the web regarding online games and some of them thrived and luckily came true in one form or another on various online games nowadays. With online gaming experience probably drawing a lot of attention, perhaps even topping traditional games, there's still a lot of room for improvement.

Thus, I'd like to share to you an idea about taking massive multiplayer game into multiplatforms... and not just multiplatform, it's simultaneous across all platforms. Sure everyone is playing their favorite game via their own console's online feature like PlayStation Network, Wii Shopping Channel and Xbox Live. But how about playing as one where all players across all platforms meet online via PC, mobile, handheld console, home console, laptops, PDA? It's quite a task I should say to create a game like that but with the right implementation on every platform, it's sure to attract the gamers' attention.

Game Exclusivity

Playing on multiple platforms has both pros and cons with the obvious major advantage as accessibility. Want to play at home and play on long hours? Play on your PC or laptop or home console. Want to play on the fly on the way for a short span of time? Bring out that phone or favorite handheld console right out of your bag or pocket and play right there and then.

Of course, as a game designer, you must identify advantages of playing on a certain platform. One example is for the mouse-driven PC, motion-driven Wii and touch-driven DS and iPhone. Since playing the game is a lot easier because of the accuracy of the x and y-coordinates, spells and other techniques which require intricate movements may become a specialty for these devices. For the PS3 and Xbox, an obvious advantage would be the graphics. The game may offer a lot random enemies-generation while not having to sacrifice the game performance. Also, since they are controller-driven, complex combos are easier to implement in them. For other mobile gadgets, a simple easy to access text-based menu will do since the player is expected to play the game for a small amount of time.

Also, I recommend having maps or places in the game exclusively for a certain platform alone like having a battle arena or popularly known as PVP. In this way, if players want to duke it out amongst their co-platform gamers, they know what to expect in them since they have the same platform.

Game Random Map Generation

After months of playing an online game, players get to boredom status after they have finished accomplishing side-quests and earned the highest level of the game. I know this is quite a difficult thing to ask but the idea of random map generation every month would be great for the players and for the game as well. After gathering enough statistics about players, the logic of the game is to create an idea of how a new map should look like through careful analysis of the data coming from the players themselves. Imagine having to invest time in developing logic like this instead of coming up with an idea all by the game designer themselves.

Customization: More than Just Level Ups

When you hear about online games, it’s all about the levels, the HP, the MP, the items and the weapons. What we’d like to see is a lot more side quests. And not just that, we players like to have that uniqueness in our characters. Uniqueness not only on how our character looks like compared to others but also with our entire weaponry, spells, and the other things we do. Why not allow players to create their own spell animation? Furthermore, why not allow them to create their own spells along with its statistical content? I’m pretty sure it’ll be more than interesting to play the game.

I hope somebody from the game development industry would take a look at articles like this and give even the slightest attention to what the players want of these online games.

Video Games on YouTube

2009-07-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

Our favorite legacy games have come to life thru these YouTube videos. A friend of mine suggested to watch some of these videos. It's nice that people all over the world still pay tribute to these games particulary Japan whose influence in games are as much as that of their influence on animation these days.

Stupid Tetris

Human Bowling

Stupid Crane Game

Human Pacman

Human Tetris

Live Action Mario Brothers

Mario, Pikachu, Princess Peach, Walker Texas Ranger

New Prince of Tennis Chapters 8 & 9 Recap

2009-07-10T22:26:00.001-07:00

New Prince of Tennis Chapters 8 & 9 Recap

It seems that the All-Japan representatives who fought against America in the previous series Prince of Tennis will still be strong candidates in the U17 Selection Camp. The only quite a bit unexpected scenario was the match-up of Yukimura Seichi versus Sanada Genichirou. Although it was pretty obvious that Yukimura will win for the simple fact that we haven't seen much of him as opposed to Sanada, I still think that Sanada's elimination will be reconsidered with a hint on Chapter 9 regarding the coach's reconsideration. I also though Kamio would lose against his former teammate.

Other match-ups are pretty obvious with team captains winning against their former teammates and players who've shown a lot of potential eversince the manga began like Choutarou.

Overall, chapters 8 & 9 took us to a flashback of Rikkai Dai's journey towards becoming two-time champions before losing to Seigaku. Atobe will be the next feature in Chapter 10. I wonder who he will be battling but I think Kabaji Munehiro will be his opponent.

You can read the full chapters here. Enjoy!

How to add Twitter to your Blog

2009-07-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

Just tried this nice widget for all Twitters out there!

How to install Twitter widget

It's a nice simple app that sits anywhere on your blog so that even if you're just posting blogs, people can get updates on your posts.

Off-season Moves in the NBA

2009-07-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

Just three days after the free agency market has opened, a week or so after the NBA draft, and almost a month after the 2008-09 season has finished, top teams have been busy stacking up their rosters with what they believe to as missing pieces for a championship caliber team. Even lower-tier teams are busy adding role players in their roster to help attract big time free agents in the upcoming 2010 class.

Here are my thoughts of the scenarios as of today:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers acquiring Shaq, re-signing Varejao - This, I should say, is a great improvement on the Center spot. Ilgauskas is injury-prone and could never get to match up well with Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett. This acquisition is a reaction to their playoff series loss against Orlando. Putting a body against Howard and Garnett while providing instant offense will help this team. However, if you look deeper into their roster, they are still lacking the right role players. Varejao’s signing signified that the Cavs failure to get top free agents this year is not all because of Danny Ferry’s fault but hugely on Lebron being a free agent next year. Players wanting a championship ring feared his departure could leave them hanging around. Dan Fegan sure has gotten in the way of Varejao's line of thinking. Also, I believe the tandem of Mo Williams and Delonte West is not as good as advertised. They need a lot of offensive explosion from the backcourt and with the way they were eaten up by the defense of Orlando, they'll just continue to outshine a weak Eastern Conference backcourt while continue to rattle over top-tier Eastern Conference teams.

2. San Antonio Spurs acquiring Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess - Now this is a reaction to the season-ending injury of Manu Ginobli. And while this team has had its way over other Western Conference playoff contenders, they still won't match up well with the Lakers nor the Nuggets and Blazers. This is just an upgrade on their scoring options and while Roger Mason continues to improve, after this season, I think they should start to rebuild this team. I don't think this team has enough tank left in them to push Lakers to its limit and bully upstart playoff contender teams for years to come. The Blazers now have an official playoff experience and will only get better together with the Nuggets. Meanwhile, this is an acknowledgment that they no longer need toughness but instead embrace the fact that they do not have that offense anymore.

3. Orlando Magic acquiring Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, losing Marcin Gortat, Hedo Turkoglu - It’s a wise decision on their part to end hopes of Turkoglu’s reunion with this team. His new contract with the Toronto Raptors suggests that he’s in for the money and not for the opportunity to be in a championship caliber team anymore. Meanwhile, they certainly do hope that Vince Carter has a lot left in his tank to help this team. It may take some time before he can adjust as he isn’t capable of being the second or third option mostly in the teams he’s played for. Losing Gortat left a huge hole on the Center spot. If Howard gets injured, which I hope not but may actually get more chance to this season, who will they go after? Luckily, they brought in Brandon Bass which is a hustle player. Although it still leaves them with Howard in the C spot alone.

4. Boston Celtics acquiring Rasheed Wallace - It's been a very clear theme of this off-season to find cheap and old free-agent players who want to experience or relive the championship run in their NBA career. While it is believed that they won’t sign Leon Powe and is still in the hunt to sign their very own Glenn Davis, Rasheed is a huge pickup since his championship experience will definitely help them. Besides, I read that Rasheed defends well against Dwight Howard. He won’t be getting a starting position but he will take up a lot of playing time as a back-up for Garnett. The only problem for them I think is his eccentricities added to Rajon Rondo’s locker room problems. His triple doubles in their last playoff run didn’t convince Danny Ainge enough to offer him a huge contract. So much so that Ainge wanted to trade him for a chance to get a quality point guard in this year’s draft class.

5. Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Ron Artest losing Trevor Ariza - While we are still awaiting the Laker’s offer to Lamar Odom, losing Ariza and acquiring Artest in return is a double-edge sword for them. Ariza has a lot of upside in his talents and as much as Mitch Kupchak wanted to keep him, his stocks went so high the past playoff run that they decided they wouldn’t gamble taking him on and losing Odom at the same time. Enter Artest. A surprising $18 million contract for 3 years made it clear that he wants to win a championship by also departing with the Rockets with the news of Yao Ming’s foot injury. But beware Lakers fans, Pau Gasol is going to take part of the Euro league this summer. And while we hope he comes back still healthy, it will really make Artest upset if Gasol gets injured. And while he is in his prime, it still is a big gamble on the Lakers part although Yahoo Sports made a nice take away that the Lakers needed him purely because they have to re-learn themselves again to rise up to the occasion again. While many praise Artest’s defense, his shot selection may be one of their biggest headaches on him. Also, I think Kobe Bryant should’ve considered taking a paycut this year instead of earning his usual $23 million. Many superstars often complain and demand a trade if they are not satisfied with their GMs transactions. But they also tend to forget that their salaries are what’s hurting the team’s salary cap by being unable to resign potential supplementary and role players.

6. Dallas Mavericks acquiring Shawn Marion and Marcin Gortat, re-signing Jason Kidd, losing Jerry Stackhouse, Brandon Bass - Finally, Mark Cuban makes his move. A nice getting rid of Stackhouse’s salary and mouth as well and a signal of their admission of failure in their acquiring of Erick Dampier were their greatest off-season moves followed by the acquiring of Shawn Marion. Eventhough he is not a high level player eversince he broke ties with Steve Nash and the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns, he is still a special tweener who could take on multiple positions on court much like Lamar Odom. Marcin Gortat is a pretty nice steal against Houston’s hot pursuit of him. The failure to re-sign Brandon Bass who is a consistent role player and who constantly provides energy on the team will be a big factor that will hurt them when the playoffs come. Re-signing Jason Kidd to a large contract, which I’m also wondering why plenty of teams are still in the hot pursuit eventhough he is quite old to do damage in this league, is a big no-no for this team. This just basically puts them in the map of the Western Conference top four teams expected to at least appear in the playoff semifinals because of four all-star players and one sixth man awardee but that’s just about it for them. The Lakers are just that strong and that versatile to be worn out by teams like the Mavs.

The Great NBA Coaching Legacy Debate

2009-06-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

Okay so here is Phil Jackson topping off Red Auerbach as the greatest coach ever in NBA history winning his tenth championship ring as a coach. Well in terms of quantity, he is the best. However, arguably? Upon this great debate and Wojnarowski's article at Yahoo about proving why Jackson is the best coach in NBA history, I saw one of the comments posted that Coach Auerbach hadn't had that much problem before because he never dealt with free agency problems which is a tough task for coaches nowadays. And to my surprise, it also says that the NBA league during that time comprised of a mere eight teams.

At its infancy stage, the NBA had eight teams when Auerbach coached, drafted Bill Russell and did his wonders. And while Auerbach was loathing that Jackson has only inherited teams with superstars, and indeed this argument is worth noting for, is it not fair if we don't factor in the number of teams during the Auerbach coaching days? According to the Basketball Reference website, it shows that there were only eight to fourteen teams who fought for the championship during those times in the NBA. And while the winning streak as a coach that Red, according to Randy Auerbach, his son, said won't be matched, the truth of the matter is that there's a bigger percentage which is from 7 - 12.5% of winning the title back then rather than winning it today which is a mere 3%. And the fact that with all the superstars demanding trades, free agencies and coaching job security woes occurring nowadays, you won't be actually secure your coaching job before contending as a finals coach or worse even a playoff contender coach.

Take for example what happened to Avery Johnson and his short stint in the Dallas Mavericks as the head coach. After winning the Coach of the Year award, he was fired after a series of unsuccessful Maverick basketball during Nowitzki's prime. Flip Saunders suffered the same fate as Larry Brown during their stint as coaches for the Detroit Pistons when they were fired by Joe Dumars with the team's failure to advance to the Finals and winning the Eastern Conference championship.

And would tenure in a team be a factor? Partly yes and partly no. With all the coaches fired recently, only Jerry Sloan has been put in some sort of tenure over his coaching job. And with 20+ years of being a head coach in Utah Jazz, he's never won the Coach of the Year award and has never won a championship as a coach in the NBA yet.

Also, what amazes me about Jackson is as what other writers have said - the ability to clamp down the superstars he's handling. He bashed them publicly when there is a need to do so. And fewer coaches nowadays fail to do it though. I don't recall any time in particular that the reigning Coach of the Year awardee Mike Brown criticized LeBron James for his character neither for his approach in the game. It's all praises for LeBron when the mere fact that the kid is still just LeBron. The fact that his strength of being an all-around superstar is also his own water loo isn't seen by the entire Cavaliers team or purposely blinding themselves for fear of him leaving thru free agency. Brown never criticized him when he publicly teased the New Yorkers about how exciting the 2010 free agency class would be and when he didn't shook up hands with Dwight and the Magic after their loss in the playoff Eastern finals matchup.

It just goes to show that it isn't just what Jackson hasn't accomplished that Auerbach has that comes into play when the world is debating about the best coach in the NBA history while the Auerbachs are sourgraping over Jackson's greatness. It is all factors combined. It is tenure, luck, character development, talent of the staff and the team, the dedication to win and most of all the respect. When Auerbach started questioning Jackson about his coaching skills, Jackson didn't question back. Instead, he stayed silent and respected the legendary coach. And that's when Auerbach lost himself the security of becoming the greatest coach in the NBA history even several years before Jackson won his tenth championship ring today.

2009 NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers

2009-06-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for a well-deserved win over the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals 2009. Congratulations also goes to Kobe Bryant for bringing home his first and well-deserved Finals MVP award together with Phil Jackson reigning over Red Auerbach winning his 10th championship as a coach.

Kudos also goes to the Orlando Magic for giving them quite a scare (well not exactly what anti-Lakers fans expected to be). I hope that Dwight Howard will continue to develop and improve his game more because I see a lot more potential in him. Apart from this, he also needs to develop when to release his own scowl for the game. Even Shaq despite his humorous antics has this game face when pressure settles in. Dwightmare or Superman or whatever you may call him, must be tough enough not only physically but also must be mentally tough and developing more than just hook shots and dunks would become very potent weapons for him.

Anyways, back to the Lakers, this team not only won because of their supposedly natural talent at the offense but also the way they hounded the Magic on defense. It really goes to show that offense wins games and defense wins championships. It will also be worth noting though that in this year's postseason games that the Lakers had, every team that they've fought were just younger in terms of playoffs experience than them. For their first round opponent the Utah Jazz, this team was considered a very tough opponent however they ended the regular season in a downturn and Boozer never really jelled with the team after his injury. He wasn't even thinking of the game, rather he's thinking about his free agency. And for the Houston Rockets, Aaron Brooks had the opportunity to become the starting point guard for the team after Rafer Alston was traded. And yet this was not totally the issue but of course their eternal struggle with the injuries of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. This is perhaps the toughest team that the Lakers were dealt with in the postseason though. Despite having a depleted lineup, Scola, Artest and Battier are playoff or perhaps pressure-tested players. Unlike the Denver Nuggets who were developed on the fly at the start of the regular season with the acquiring of Chauncey Billups, the Rockets have always been through the toughest times. Carmelo Anthony isn't a leader yet of his team. He needs to take basketball seriously and with the help of Chauncey, he is definitely maturing not only in his game but also in his character. The Nuggets have succumbed into the hands of the Lakers because they were just happy to be there - to go deep and enter the Western Conference finals for the first time. And finally, the Magic finally have fallen and have shown signs of immaturity against a Finals-tested Lakers. Coaching-wise and character-wise, however strong your team is, you'll eventually fall over the hunger mentality as shown by the Lakers.

So that being said, I consider the Lakers as half-tested yet. Having faced Lebron and the Cavs won't do much damage to them as they'll be eaten by Gasol and Bynum inside. But instead, having a finals match-up between the Lakers and Celtics once again would definitely be a case of champion versus champion. A veteran team against a veteran team who won't be pressured, won't get rattled and won't show signs of maturity. It's a test of mentality and hunger. I'm not saying that the Magic aren't well-deserved of their finals appearance but Howard's maturity has grown one notch higher against a Celtics team they were supposed to beat simply because they are Garnett-less. It's just saying that the Lakers will be tested only in the Finals.

For now, congratulations to the Lakers. I hope they'd get the chance to bring back Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom for one final chance at a three-peat by Phil Jackson.

Eyeshield 21 Chapter 333: Final Down

2009-06-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

Eyeshield 21 Chapter 333: Ready, Set, Hut Last Page

Two days ago, I thought of writing an article about the sports manga New Prince of Tennis and now I'm writing another one for another sports manga which came to an end - Eyeshield 21.

Writen by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata, Eyeshield 21 focuses on one of the most popular sport in America which is the American Football. Sena Kobayakawa who was discovered by Hiruma to have the potential to be the fastest running back was recruited forcefully to join the Deimon Devil Bats during their High School Christmas Bowl journey. Hiruma together with Musashi and Kurita initially had the dream of participating in the Christmas Bowl during their freshmen years. However, the problem is they don't have the pieces to even complete a line-up. This time around, with baseball catching tensai Monta and other role players joining the team, they fought adversity and played through Hiruma's trump cards and plays. Upon winning the Christmas Bowl against Hakushuu Dinosaurs and eliminating Oujou White Knights and Shinryuji Nagas in the process, an All-Japan team was formed to join the High School American Football Cup.

And now Eyeshield 21 came to an end with the final chapter 333 entitled Ready Set Hut depicting the whereabouts of the All-Japan team members. Sena became the team captain of Deimon after the trio of Musashi, Kurita and Hiruma left. MVP Panther joined the NFL as a professional player and Sena was invited to play in Notre Dame wherein the legendary player Eyeshield 21 was born. Sena came back from America and joined Enma University as they easily pass the entrance exam because no one fails the university's exams. Here are some of the line-ups featured in the last chapter:

Enma University:
1. Sena Kobayakawa of Deimon Devil Bats
2. Monta of Deimon Devil Bats
3. Riku of Seibu Wildgunmen
4. Unsui of Shinryuji Nagas
5. Mizumachi
6. Koutarou of Banjo Spiders
7. Kurita of Deimon Devil Bats

Saikyoudai University - the most powerful school in the American Football Sport includes a powerful cast
1. Agon of Shinryuji Nagas
2. Akaba
3. Yamato
4. Taka

Oujou University still has its former high school players led by Shin

Shuuei Medical College
1. Takami from Oujou White Knights
2. Yukimitsu from Deimon Devil Bats

Takekura Construction Babels - rumored worst team from the Semi-Pro League
1. Musashi of Deimon Devil Bats
2. Kid from Seibu Wildgunmen
3. Gaou from Hakushuu Dinosaurs

Takekura Engineering
1. Hiruma of Deimon Devil Bats
2. Ikkyuu of Shinryuji Nagas

Zokuto University was known for Habashira Rui.

The trio of Hiruma, Kurita and Musashi decided to part ways mainly because Musashi can't afford to go the same university as Kurita and Hiruma wants to go to eventhough they all wanted to play with each other. However, Kurita decided not to team up with Hiruma with respect to Musashi.

In the end, everyone mentioned above watched the first performance of Sena Kobakayawa back from Notre Dame who was wearing the popular Eyeshield and jersey number 21 qualify and play in the Rice Bowl.

Overall, I really liked the manga. I haven't watched the anime though. I enjoyed reading it not only because of the underdog players who battled with sheer determination against naturally gifted players but also with the humor and idiocy that Deimon Devil Bats brings to the plot and Hiruma's trick plays against their opponents. It was a great manga and I really hope Inagaki and Murata comes up with another run of the Eyeshield 21: College Edition just like the New Prince of Tennis.

New Prince of Tennis Manga

2009-06-12T11:27:00.001-07:00

Last March 5th, ryColaa scanlated the first issue of New Prince of Tennis which was made available at OneManga.com. I was very delighted to read about the continuation of one of the more popular sports manga/ anime to date because the last OVA episode was just finished just months ago.

This is a great news for sports manga fans as probably the longest running sports manga series Hajime no Ippo will be joined by the New Prince of Tennis as they try to continue on their success.

Just to give you an overview, this time, they're Middle Schoolers battling it out to be chosen in the U-17 team Japanese High School Representation selection camp. Ryoma Echizen just came back from conquering a US Open and as usual the Seigaku team is complete together with other middle school teams like Rikkai Dai, Hyotei and Shitenhouji. The first challenge in the selection camp was to grab a tennis ball in order to qualify as a candidate and our favorite middle schoolers easily did that as opposed to other nobodies bragging about their tennis skills. The second challenge was to pair up and as usual long-time doubles pairs quickly formed their teams but to everyone's surprise, they will be battling their teammate to remain as a candidate in the selections. This challenge is still on-going though with only seven chapters to date of this series continuation.

Some things to note:

1. So far, the selection camp's results of prospective candidates were looking like that of the Japanese representatives in the US vs Japan arc wherein the final battle was between Kevin and Ryoma.

2. I really don't quite dig Eiji winning against Oishi. Eventhough Oishi has been portrayed as more of a doubles player and has been inferior to Eiji in terms of skills when they play one on one, I still don't quite get it why Eiji's name has been popping out as a candidate option. Besides the Kikumaru beam smash and the dopple ganger, there's only the acrobatic technique in which the author can call it Kikumaru's own.

3. What happened to the Fuji vs Tezuka after the National Championship arc? If I remember correctly, Fuji challenged Tezuka to play against him after he won in the finals. And it also seems that Fuji has very few appearances so far in the new series.

4. Akutsu joins part of the U-17 selection camp. It was quite a surprise for me considering he wasn't even interested in playing tournament tennis again though but this is quite a nice new development.

5. No new prodigies on the middle schoolers' ranks. Perhaps the author just wants every Prince of Tennis fan to be happy that their favorite PoT characters are still intact and included in the series. Sad to say though that no new prodigies have come since Ryoma was not around for a long time.

With only seven chapters released, I think the author is still plotting the storyline for the old and new characters alike. I hope it won't turn into a one-sided middle school-filled line up of the U-17. Slam Dunk fans who have lost hope that the series will be revived after a shocking ending in which Shohoku failed to advance to the national championship will be very much delighted at the storyline of Prince of Tennis series. Seigaku unlike Shohoku won the national championship and guess what, the author is continuing the series in the form of the New Prince of Tennis ala Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z. The shift to middle school really is refreshing for manga readers like me who have long been starved of the storyline that Slam Dunk has teased us. Have fun reading the manga!

Happy Philippine Independence Day!

2009-06-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Philippine Independence Day to all Filipinos out there! Pinoy, Mabuhay ka!

The Geek Strip Issue 001: Compile Error

2009-06-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Finally finished my first comic strip. Hope you like it!

Farm Town Tips and Tricks Part 2

2009-06-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Tired of plowing, planting and harvesting? Another tip I'd like to share in Farm Town is when you have around 30,000 to 100,000 coins to spare, purchase any of the following at the Store:

Small House - 70,000 coins
Silo - 30,000 coins
Windmill - 40,000 coins
Barn - 60,000 coins
Wood Shed - 30,000 coins

Purchase and sell them again. Though selling these items won't bring back the coins you've spent on buying them, you'll get lots of experience points a hundred or more so of experience points. Selling them also helps increase planting options since after you've purchased them, it won't be of any use to you in the future in terms of gaining experience points. If you're only thinking of leveling up, try doing this method. Of course a lot of hiring charms in the Market will also help you out.

Also, if you don't have that much money to spare, play around and buy some stuff on Fences and Paths. Buying some items here would let you gain 5 or more experience points. You earn additional 2 more experience points rather than plowing and planting seeds of Grapes though.

Pet Society Gold Mystery Box 999 Items

2009-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

For all Pet Society gamers out there, here's a quick list of 999 items found in Gold Mystery Box when sold.

Antique Door
Antique Telephone
Black Rocket Lava Lamp
Checkered Floor Tiles
Chrome Laptop
Chrome Mobile
Floral Hat
Lion Dance Hat (also removed from GMBs)
Lion Dance Shirt (already removed from GMBs)
Loud Speakers
Love Heart Candle
Love Lava Lamp
Lucky Rug
Luxurious Armchair
Nuclear Rug
Piano
Pink Fridge
Pink Princess Rug
Playful Fish Hat
Royal Dining Table
Royal Gold Chandelier
Samurai Helmet
Squitty
Stainless Steel Toilet
Wizard Hat (do not confuse with witch hat)
Wonder Pants

DotA 6.60 Map

2009-06-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day has come after months of anticipation... the new map for Dota made by IceFrog. Here is the changelog copied from getdota.com. Have fun reading it! There's really a whole lot of changes made. Kudos to Icefrog and more power to Dota players!

6.60 Changelog
===============

############
## Heroes ##
############

* Added a new hero Batrider to the Scourge [details below]
* Added a new hero Tauren Chieftain to the Sentinel [details below]
* Lightning Revenant: Reworked [details below]
* Medusa: Replaced Chain Lightning with a new ability Mystic Snake [details below]
* Medusa: Replaced Purge with a new ability Stone Gaze [details below]
* Netherdrake: Replaced Frenzy with a new ability Nethertoxin [details below]
* Rogue Knight: Replaced Toughness Aura with a new ability Warcry [details below]
* Slayer: Replaced Ultimate with a new ability Fiery Soul [details below]
* Twin Head Dragon: Replaced Autofire with a new ability Liquid Fire [details below]
* Troll Warlord: Replaced Rampage with a new ability Battle Trance [details below]
* Rogue Knight: Reworked how Stormbolt works [details below]
* Morphling: Reworked how Morphiling's Adaptive Strike works [details below]
* Crystal Maiden: Replaced Frost Nova with a similar new ability Crystal Nova [details below]
* Phantom Assassin: Changed Blink Strike to a new ability Phantom Strike [details below]
* Ogre Magi: Reworked Multicast chance mechanism [details below]
* Sniper: Replaced Scattershot with a new ability Shrapnel [details below]
* Troll Warlord: Replaced Fervor Aura with a new ability Fervor (works like Beastmaster's passive used to)
* Beastmaster: Replaced Beast Rage with a new ability Inner Beast (works like Troll's old attack speed aura)
* Anti-Mage: Reworked Mana Void damage mechanism (now deals equal splash damage to units near the target)
* Silencer: Recoded Last Word to properly detect animation canceling and silence after a spell is casted
* Treant Protector: Reworked Eyes in the Forest [details below]

* Admiral: Lowered Agility (18->14) and Agility Per Level (1.7->1.3)
* Axe: Lowered Base Armor by 1 point (2.8->1.8)
* Bane Elemental: Improved cast range on Enfeeble (800->1000)
* Bristleback: Improved Base Intelligence growth by 0.6
* Bristleback: Improved side angles on Bristleback (90->110)
* Bristleback: Returned the Bristleback passive Quill Spray release cap back (300->250)
* Broodmother: Changed spiderling's armor type from medium to normal and now take damage from first towers (50->100 %)
* Crystal Maiden: Lowered Brilliance Aura (0.75/1.5/2.25/3->0.5/1/1.5/2)
* Dark Seer: Improved Vacuum cast range (600->800)
* Dark Seer: Lowered Ion Shell cooldown (15->7 cd)
* Dark Seer: Vacuum no longer goes through magic immunity
* Dark Seer: Vacuum now drags the units in over 0.3 seconds rather than instantly
* Death Prophet: Witchcraft no longer gives movement speed bonus
* Geomancer: Changed Poof damage (60/80/100/120->50/80/110/140)
* Geomancer: Lowered Poof cooldown (20/18/16/14->16/14/12/10 cd)
* Invoker: Improved Alacrity duration (6->8)
* Keeper of the Light: Changed Mana Leak stun into a slow (2 seconds, 60 %)
* Keeper of the Light: You no longer lose control of your hero when knocked back with Blinding Light
* Lifestealer: Removed the initial stun effect from Open Wounds
* Lion: Voodoo duration reduced from 1/2/3/4 to 1.25/2/2.75/3.5 seconds
* Lone Druid: Added Battle Cry to all level of True Form and scaled the bonus damage/armor (20/2->20/2, 40/4, 60/6) and lowered duration (10->8 seconds)
* Lone Druid: Changed Spirit Bear's ability progression (Lv1->Adds Inventory, Lv2->Adds Return, Lv3->Adds Entangle, Lv4->Adds Demolish and Spell Damage Reduction)
* Lone Druid: Improved True Form's melee attack range (100->150)
* Lone Druid: Rabid now goes on both the Spirit Bear and Lone Druid when casted instead of requiring a target
* Lone Druid: Removed One from True Form
* Lone Druid: Spells now last the same duration on Spirit Bear as they do on heroes
* Lord of Avernus: Lowered Death Coil cooldown (7->6 seconds)
* Lord of Avernus: Gets the Mark of the Abyss buff on his first attack instead of on his second attack
* Luna: Increased Lunar Blessing aura range (300->900)
* Magnataur: Lowered Reverse Polarity cooldown (120->120/110/100 seconds)
* Magnataur: Improved attack animation time
* Magina: Undid recent buffs to base strength (21->16)
* Naga Siren: Reduced collision size (24->8)
* Naga Siren: Lowered Mirror Image cast time
* Naga Siren: Lowered Mirror Image cooldown (50->40 seconds) and manacost (85/105/130/150 to 70/80/90/100)
* Necrolyte: Rebalanced Heartstopper Aura from 0.5/0.75/1/1.25% to 0.4/0.6/0.8/1% and range from 700/800/900/1000 to 1000
* Necrolyte: Lowered Strength per level (2.0->1.5)
* Obsidian Destroyer: Lowered Astral Imprisonment cooldown (20->18/16/14/12 seconds)
* Pandaren Brewmaster: Improved Fire Panda's Immolation (10/10/30->15/30/45)
* Pugna: Life Drain max range improved by 50 and its cast range is now equal to its max range
* Rhasta: Voodoo duration reduced from 1/2/3/4 to 1.25/2/2.75/3.5 seconds
* Rogue Knight: Improved Great Cleave damage (10/20/30/40->20/30/40/50 %)
* Sacred Warrior: Removed the cap on Burning Spears
* Shadow Fiend: Improved Presence of the Dark Lord armor reduction (1/2/3/4->2/3/4/5)
* Shadow Priest: Lowered Shallow Grave cooldown (80/60/40/20->54/40/26/12 cd)
* Silencer: Lowered Last Word duration (1/2/3/4->0.75/1.5/2.25/3)
* Slardar: Slithereen Crush damage type is now Physical type
* Spectre: Restored some vision back to Spectral Dagger path
* Spirit Breaker: Improved AOE on Empowering Haste and added 2% more movement speed bonus
* Stone Giant: Craggy Exterior now gives armor bonus (3/4/5/6)
* Stone Giant: Craggy Exterior now triggers off of units with 300 range rather than just based on melee classification
* Templar Assassin: Changed Refraction duration/cooldown (20/23->17/17)
* Templar Assassin: Changed Psi Blades spill range (80/160/240/320->320) and attack range bonus (50/100/150/200->40/100/160/220)
* Templar Assassin: Refraction is now an instant cast ability
* Terrorblade: Now gets a movement speed bonus during Metamorphosis (+20)
* Tinker: Restricted Black King Bar from refreshing
* Troll Warlord: Rebalanced Blind. Miss from 15/24/33/42 -> 20/28/36/44% and Cooldown from 8 -> 15/12/9/6 seconds
* Twin Head Dragon: Rescaled Ice Path (0.5/1/1.5/2->0.8/1.2/1.6/2 seconds)
* Undying: Lowered Base Armor by 3 points (6->3)
* Undying: Tombstone no longer spawns zombies to attack fogged units
* Ursa Warrior: Rescaled Overpower from 100/200/300/400% IAS with 5 attack count to a constant 400% IAS with 3/4/5/6 attacks
* Vengeful Spirit: Improved Strength Per Level by 0.5
* Vengeful Spirit: Improved Command Aura range (450->900)
* Vengeful Spirit: Improved Wave of Terror a little and added some minor damage (25/50/75/100). Lowered AOE slightly (350->300)
* Vengeful Spirit: Now has normal Base Attack Time (1.77->1.7)
* Windrunner: Lowered Base Attack Time (1.6->1.5)
* Zeus: Arc Lightning becomes available for casting immediately after cooldown rather than wait for the Lightning to finish traveling. Cooldown increased from 2 to 2.5 seconds.

###########
## Items ##
###########

* Added a new basic item Ghost Scepter [details below]
* Added a new basic item Quelling Blade [details below]
* Added a new basic item Talisman of Evasion [details below]
* Added a new recipe item Poor Man's Shield [details below]
* Added a new recipe item Force Staff [details below]
* Added a new recipe item Khadgar's Pipe of Insight [details below]
* Added a new recipe item Magic Wand [details below]

* Aghanim's Scepter: New Recipe [details below]
* Manta Style: Reworked [details below]
* Diffusal Blade: Can be upgraded once. Original stats adjusted [details below]
* Maelstrom: Recipe and stats adjusted [details below]
* Linken Sphere: Rewrote parts of the following abilities to be compatible with Linken Sphere: Shackleshot, Brain Sap, Spirit Lance, Test of Faith, Malefice, Poison Touch, Shadow Word, Astral Imprisonment, Life Break, X Marks The Spot, Battle Hunger, Open Wounds, Electric Vortex, Paralyzing Casks, Multicast, Adaptive Strike Strength>Agility, Nether Swap, Rupture, Stifling Dagger, Sprout, Lightning Bolt, Lion's Impale, Nerubian Assassin's Impale, Ravage, Burrow Strike, Unstable Concoction, Mana Leak, Sven's Storm Bolt, Reaper's Scythe, Nether Strike, Gush.

* Assault Cuirass: Lowered recipe cost (2000->1500 gold)
* Assault Cuirass: Positive and negative armor auras now work on structures
* Blademail: Returns pure damage type
* Bloodstone: Lowered regeneration per charge (2->1.5) and passive regeneration (200->150 %)
* Cranium Basher: Uses Belt of Giant Strength along with a slight increase to stun duration (1.1->1.4 seconds). Total cost is unchanged.
* Divine Rapier: Improved damage (200->250 dmg)
* Eul's Scepter of Divinity: Can be used to target yourself
* Eye of Skadi: Lowered recipe cost (1250->750 gold)
* Gem of True Sight: Lowered item cost (750->700 gold)
* Headress of Rejuvination: Lowered recipe cost (225->200 gold)
* Linken Sphere: No longer interrupts your teleportation when it blocks a spell
* Lothar's Edge: Added 125 backstab damage
* Lothar's Edge: Lowered cooldown by 2 seconds (20->18 cd)
* Lothar's Edge: Requires Claymore instead of Mithril Hammer
* Magic Stick: Added a 25 second cooldown (it now has a buildup)
* Manta Style: Can now be disassembled
* Manta Style: Increased cooldown (40->50 cd)
* Mask of Madness: Lowered recipe cost (1050->1000 gold)
* Mithril Hammer: Lowered item cost (1610->1600 gold)
* Monkey King Bar: Now has an extra new passive ability True Strike that can be toggled on and off [details below]
* Phase Boots: Changed the duration/cooldown (5/10->6/12 seconds)
* Phase Boots: Lowered armor bonus (7->5 armor)
* Planeswalker's Cloak: Lowered item cost (650->400 gold)
* Radiance: Removed the 8% evasion and improved burn damage (35->40), AOE (550->650 AOE), and recipe cost (1525->1350 g)
* Refresher Orb: Mana regen is now the total sum of its components (150->200%)
* Ring of Regeneration: Lowered item cost (375->350 gold)
* Sange and Yasha: Removed the recipe requirements
* Satanic: Changed Unholy Rage active (+15% lifesteal and +30 damage for 20 seconds -> +150% lifesteal for 3.5 seconds)
* Satanic: Now retains the bonus damage from Helm of the Dominator
* Stout Shield: Changed damage block system [see details below]
* Stout Shield: Lowered item cost (300->250 gold)
* The Butterfly: Now requires Talisman of Evasion instead of a recipe
* Vanguard: Improved block chances (65->70%)
* Vanguard: Improved health regeneration (5->6 hp)

* Heroes that use scepter now have the information about the upgrades they would get on their ultimate tooltips.

* Aghanim's Scepter: Upgraded Chain Frost doesn't improve bounce count, only damage
* Aghanim's Scepter: Upgraded Eclipse cooldown no longer improves, only the Lucent Beam count gets upgraded
* Aghanim's Scepter: Upgraded Laguna Blade level 3 damage reduced by 100
* Aghanim's Scepter: Upgraded Life Drain cooldown removed and damage reduced (170/200/300->150/200/250)
* Aghanim's Scepter: Upgraded Mass Serpent Wards bonus count nerfed (12->10)
* Aghanim's Scepter: Upgraded Sonic Wave cooldown reduced from 120/100/75 to 110 (Still improves from original 135 cd and via damage)
* Aghanim's Scepter: Removed from Ogre Magi (Might return it later after the rework has time to settle in first)

* Added Bane Elemental to Aghanim's Scepter. Deals more damage
* Added Butcher to Aghanim's Scepter. Deals damage based on his strength and aborbs that to heal himself. Damage from a constant 75/125/175 per second to 75/125/175 + 0.75 x Strength per second
* Added Clockwerk Goblin to Aghanim's Scepter. Allows latching onto allies and reduces cooldown from 80/60/40 to 20 seconds
* Added Faceless Void to Aghanim's Scepter. Lasts 1 second longer and slightly less cooldown
* Added Holy Knight to Aghanim's Scepter. Dramatically reduces cooldown from 120 to 30
* Added Invoker to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves Cooldown and Manacost (30/25/12/5-> 16/8/4/2 cd, 20/50/80/110->0 manacost)
* Added Juggernaut to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves Slash Count and Cooldown (+2 slashes, -20 cd)
* Added Lord of Avernus to Aghanim's Scepter. Increased duration by 2 seconds
* Added Nightstalker to Aghanim's Scepter. Gives unobstructed vision at night
* Added Pandaren Brewmaster to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves the power of the Pandas and adds more duration
* Added Sacred Warrior to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves Damage and cooldown (50->65% damage, 45/30/15->24/16/8 Seconds)
* Added Sand King to Aghanim's Scepter. Adds an extra pulse and lowers cooldown (+1 Pulse, -20 cd)
* Added Shadow Priest to Aghanim's Scepter. Increased Weave duration by 6 seconds. Added 200 AOE
* Added Spiritbreaker to Aghanim's Scepter. Dramatically reduces cooldown from 75 to 20 seconds
* Added Techies to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves Damage and Cast Range (300/450/600->450/600/750 damage and 500->900 range cast range)
* Added Twin Head Dragon to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves spawn time and damage (75/125/175->125/175/225 dmg)
* Added Vengeful Spirit to Aghanim's Scepter. Improves Cooldown (45->10 cd)
* Added Windrunner to Aghanim's Scepter. Does not reduce damage from secondary item effects. Cooldown from 60 to 15.

* Summary of heroes that now make use of Scepter: Lord of Avernus, Bane Elemental, Holy Knight, Clockwerk Goblin, Shadow Priest, Sacred Warrior, Invoker, Juggernaut, Tormented Soul, Slayer, Demon Witch, Moon Rider, Necrolyte, Nightstalker, Pandaren Brewmaster, Butcher, Oblivion, Queen of Pain, Shadow Shaman, Crystal Maiden, Spiritbreaker, Sand King, Twin Head Dragon, Vengeful Spirit, Venomancer, Faceless Void, Windrunner, Witch Doctor, Lord of Olympia.

####################
## Misc Highlight ##
####################

* Reorganized heroes into taverns based on hero class. There are now 3 taverns per class, the "good" tavern has the heroes that are easier to recognize as "good", the evil tavern has the heroes that are easier to recognize as "evil" and the mix as the ones that are in between. In each tavern the heroes are organized inside of it by alphabet. The Taverns are colored according to the class. For example, the good Intelligence tavern is Blue with the color darkening as it goes to the evil side.

* Side shops are now organized independent from their item slot in their original stores. This also fixes hotkey conflict issues.
* Reworked the side shop item layouts. There are now two shops there, a Goblin Laboratory and a Goblin Merchant. New items have been added to these shops. Here is the complete listing of the items in there:
Goblin Laboratory: Scroll of Town Portal, Magic Stick, Sobi Mask, Stout Shield, Ring of Regeneration, Ring of Health, Cloak, Helm of Iron Will, Mask of Death
Goblin Merchant: Slippers of Agility, Boots of Elvenskin, Belt of Giant Strength, Robe of the Mage, Quelling Blade, Gloves of Haste, Blades of Attack, Quarterstaff, Talisman of Evasion, Kelen's Dagger, Ultimate Orb
* Reorganized all the recipe shops. The goals are both to make room for the recently added items and more importantly to organize them in a manner that makes guessing correctly where an item is an easy task for both existing and new players. I know none of us like to relearn item layouts, but this is a good thing to do for the long run.
- There are 6 recipe shops now in the following order:
Gateway Relics: Misc items that are primarily early game upgrades
Supportive Vestments: Various support style items that you get for your team
Arcane Sanctum: Castable or spell heavy themed items
Protectorate: Has mainly defensive/survival style items
Enchanted Artificats: Mostly orb effect items (with the exception of Yasha)
Ancient Weaponry: All other weapon items.

Note: I'm aware that Aegis is no longer needed in the shops, but I'm keeping it there until we need the space to help new users be aware of its existance through Roshan.

######################
## Modes & Commands ##
######################

* Added a new game mode -cd (-CaptainsDraft) [details below]
* Added a new game mode -rs (-randomside) to randomize which side your team starts in. This does not shuffle the players. It just places a team randomly as either Sentinel or Scourge.
* Added -random Intelligence/Strength/Agility. It gives you 100 less bonus gold than the 250 bonus gold the regular -random gives you.

* Added a new -tips system.If you enter the command, the game will give you 5 pointers (at various stages in the game) that are unique to each hero to help you get the basics down. These are not intended to imply guideliens on how to play a hero, but rather as simple tips if you are new with that hero. These are a work in progress.
* Added -water random
* -water now supports any color combinations using -water r g b format

* You can now change the terrain using -terrain snow on a per user basis. It is no longer a game mode. The "-terrain" or "-terrain default" command reverts the terrain to its normal state. Some of the other terrain modes you guys have emailed me about are still being worked on. I disabled them from this version because of some glitches they cause that haven't been fixed yet. I will work on them more in the future if you guys want them.

* Added -disablehelp to Force Staff
* Added a command to display bonus gold received from Goblins Greed (-gg)
* Added -aa (Arrow Accuracy) for Elune's Arrow hit percentages
* -disablehelp now prevents items from being picked up by non-owners from the fountain area
* -oi is turned on by default in observer games. Using -oi will disable it instead.
* Added a sub command to -om that disables neutral spawns
* Added a player only command "rollhero" or "-rh" to randomly display a heroname. This has no actual functional effect in the game, just a small easy command that some players wanted for their play groups.
* AFK detection no longer considers a player to be AFK during the drafting phases of some game modes

* Switch is disabled by default. Added a new temporary game mode -switchon (-so). Haven't developed a new replacement system for switch yet. There are a few ideas I experimented with but nothing final yet. Based on the feedback I've gotten, I think the best thing to do is to disable it by default and allow a mode for it until a more suitable usage of it can be implemented.
* Improved the text presentation of -switch a little bit so the text is less intrusive

############################
## Gameplay & Performance ##
############################

* Added a few new terrain paths. Here are the rough areas that a change has been done in:
- To the right of the Sentinel Secret Shop above the ramp
- Above the Sentinel Goblin Shop
- Between the forest and the top Scourge lane
- Right side of sent jungle
- To the right of the second top Sentinel tower
- Added a new tree to the Scourge jungle
- In the area between the pair of Scourge neutrals near the powerup

* Range rax no longer has extra regeneration
* Added a new regeneration armor mechanism for towers and rax.
- The "regen armor" is stripped away whenever there are nearby creeps (or corpses). It gets restored once 15 seconds elapse without a nearby unit.
- If a tower or rax takes damage without the regen armor, that life lost can never be naturally regenerated. If it does have the regen armor, then it will regenerate at a rate of 40hp/seconds and take only 25% damage from illusions.
- Flagged areas are 1) All places considered in or near base 2) second Top Tower 3) second Mid Tower 4) second Bot Tower.

* Increased the non-splitting portion of the xp/gold from 8/level xp & 40 gold to 12*level xp & 30+5*level
* The non-splitting xp/gold bonuses are now doubled for EM like the rest of the xp/bounty system is

* Changed the damage type of the first tower to be Siege like the rest of the towers. Adjusted the damage table to keep the damage creeps take in the laning phase unchanged.
* Tower does not regenerate from allied damage (when trying to deny)

#####################
## Cosmetic & Misc ##
#####################

* Added two new hero kill sounds for 4x and 5x kills
* Added hero and creep stats to the scoreboard title by default
* Deny visual effect is shown by default now. -cson/off toggles it on and off. -di functionalities (and some extras) are now enabled by default.
* The upgrade mechanism of courier has been changed. You no longer lose the hotkey bindings you have when it is upgraded to crow.
* Many passive icons have been replaced with proper passive borders (will do the remaining in the near future)
* Improved color/text presentation for runes
* Adaptive Strike now displays the stun duration as overhead
* Added a joke name to Dragon Knight
* Added a new ability on couriers "Return Home" that sends your courier back to base
* Added a new ability on couriers "Transfer Items" that transfers your items to your hero directly
* Added a new visual effect for Death Pulse
* Added a new visual effect for Last Word
* Added a new visual effect for Mana Void
* Added a warning message when an old unsafe version of Warcraft is detected
* Added a player only sound effect and a text message when your hero respawns
* Added allied-only text message when an ally bottles or picks up a rune
* Added Armor Aura to Neutral Creep Enraged Wildkin
* Added joke name to Axe
* Added text for observers to show what abilities heroes are leveling
* Added the "Allied hero has fallen" sounds
* Added the music that plays in single player when typing "TenthLevelTaurenChieftain" to "-music special"
* Adjusted neutral creep active abilities to all be on the bottom left most spot
* Blackhole now uses an AOE targetting interface
* Bottled Runes now show color coded icons
* Changed Bottle and Captured Rune Icons
* Changed Magic Stick Icon
* Reduced maximum AFK time from 10 to 5 minutes
* Changed Omnislash hotkey from N to E
* Changed the cosmetics on Razor's attack
* Improved the Cooldown animation so it is much easier to tell when a long cooldown spell is available
* Lothars windwalk icon is now the same as the item
* Lycan's attack while in Wolf Form now properly plays an attack sound
* Normal mode can now pick from their team's heroes plus neutral heroes
* Removed Furion teleportation restriction into enemy base (no need because of the new regen system)
* Rot no longer triggers Last Word
* Rune of Regeneration now expires once it you reach max hp and mp
* Silencer Intelligence stealing is now displayed as green for the +1 and red for the -1
* Splitshot no longer automatically turns off when you get disabled
* Stout Shield has a new icon now. Poor Man's Shield uses stout's old icon.
* Terrain snow now morphs regular trees into special snow trees.
* Updated Illusion Rune tooltip
* Updated Morph's tooltip to reflect the recent attributes bonus added to it
* You no longer lose vision if an ally or yourself that is targeted with Astral Prison
* Improved icon for Soul Steal (172705)
* Added a new icon for Sunder (172705)
* Added a new icon for Tombstone (263561)
* Added a new icon for Lycan's Feral Heart (180452)
* Changed the icon for Ring of Protection
* Decreased model size of Spirit Bear and True Form slightly
* Added a new visual effect to God's Strength
* Enigma returns to the Scourge alliance
* Linken Sphere now plays a sound when the cooldown is ready and its active on you

##########
## Bugs ##
##########

* Diffusal Blade automatically fixes itself to burn properly on images when it reaches 0 charges (you used to have to drop and pick it up)
* Fixed a bug with manavoid damage (it dealt less damage than it should at higher levels)
* Fixed a rare bug with Open Wounds allied lifesteal
* Fixed a bug with Open Wounds and Infest
* Fixed a Moonlight Shadow not working on allied magic immune units
* Fixed a rare suicide bug with Terrorblade
* Fixed a recently introduced bug with Ursa's Enrage not properly triggering fury swipes
* Fixed -hhn to not get reset when a new hero enters the map
* Fixed some bugs with Last Word when Silencer was dead
* Fixed Illusions created from Bottle not showing bottle in inventory
* Fixed Meat Hook not interrupting channeling if the target is fogged
* Fixed Open Wounds heal not working properly with some custom spells
* Fixed Replicate not removing the image when it errors due to backdooring
* Fixed some minor potential bugs with Ion Shell
* Fixed some -switch issues when combined with -ah
* Fixed some very minor inconsistencies between Sentinel and Scourge buildings
* Fixed spells like Laser and Brainsap to work with Decrepify
* Fixed spells like Zeus's Wrath of God from reseting the AFK counter
* Fixed the attachment effects on Invoker, Lina, Lich and Chaos Knight from disappearing and reapearing 1 second later after attack actions.
* Fixed the creep upgrade timer to be in sync with the recent game start time for modes
* Fixed Tiny's Illusions appearing small

#############
# Languages #
#############

The game is now available in 9 languages (5 new ones). English, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, French, Czech, German, and Brazilian Portuguese.

###########
# Details #
###########

Captains Draft:
===============
24 Heroes are randomly allocated in a circle (like RD). The 24 consist of 8 random Intelligence/Agility/Strength heroes, sorted in that order along the circle.

Each team has a total time bank of 2.5 minutes. Blue/Pink draft the heroes for their entire team.

Blue and Pink start off by alternating 1/1/1/1 ban picks.
It then goes into a 1/2/2/2/2/1 hero draft.

Once a hero picks/bans a hero, it immediately switches to the other player to act.
Your timer is shown in read when it is your turn to act.

I am considering implementing a new order for the bans for this mode in the future. The bans would not all happen before the pick process, it would be in between picks. I decided to keep it the traditional way for now and get some feedback on alternatives.

Quelling Blade:
================
+36% bonus damage to non-hero units (12% for ranged heroes)
Tree Chop
- Kills a Tree
- 40 Cooldown
Cost: 250
Has no sell price
Available at the Goblin Merchant

Can only carry one

Talisman of Evasion:
====================
+25% Evasion
Cost: 1800

Stout:
======
250 Gold
+60% to block 20 (10 for ranged)

Note: It has the same statistical value as before for melee.

Poor Man's Shield:
==================
(250) Stout Shield
(300) 2x Slippers of Agility

+60% to block 20 non-hero damage (10 for ranged)
+100% to block 20 hero damage (10 for ranged)
+6 Agility

Force Staff:
============
(900) Quarterstaff
(1000) Staff of Wizardry
(300) Recipe
Total: 2200

+10 Intelligence
+10 Damage
+10 Attack Speed
Force (active)
Cooldown: 30
Manacost: 100
Castrange: 800
Mechanic: Pushes a unit (enemy, allied or self) 500 units in the direction that unit is facing.

This does not interrupt channeling spells

Khadgar's Pipe of Insight:
==========================
(2050) Hood of Defiance
(909) Natherzim Buckler
(800) Recipe
Total:3759

A powerful artifact of mysterious origin, this pipe gives the bearer the insight to summon fields of null energy which envelop nearby allies, protecting them from 400 spell damage. Buff lasts 8 seconds.

+30% Magic Resistance
+8 HP Regeneration
+5 Armor
Barrier (Active)
Cooldown: 60
Manacost: 100
AOE: 700
Mechanic: Provides a 400 damage magic damage shield on nearby allied units. Affects Heroes and non-player creeps. If a unit already has this buff when another barrier is casted, it will override the buff with the new one instead of stacking additively. Buff lasts 8 seconds

Note: The 400 damage is before any magic reductions, not after. So a 300 damage spell removes 300 life from the shield, and not the 225 basic spell resistance. It is taken off the shield before it hits you, thus before any magic resistance is taken into effect.

Ghost Scepter:
==============
1500 Gold
Ghost Form (Active)
+7 All Attributes

Ghost Form: You change form for 4 seconds, taking 44% bonus damage from spells but being immune to physical attacks.
Duration: 4
Cooldown: 25

Monkey King Bar's True Strike:
==============================
Makes your attacks never miss.

True Strike Does not stack properly with orb or chance abilities like Frost Arrows, Headshot, etc.

True Strike can be toggled on and off.

Note: MKB still has proc effect

Magic Wand:
===========
(159) 3x Ironwood Branch
(200) Magic Stick
(125) Recipe
Total: 474

+3 All Stats
Energy Charge (15 Charges)

Aghanim's Scepter:
==================
(2000) 2 of any of Blade of Alacrity, Ogre Axe or Staff of Wizardry
(1200) Point Booster
(1200) Recipe
Total: 4400

+10 All Attributes
+200 HP
+150 MP
Improves Ultimates (see list of ultimates in log or on the ultimate tooltips for the heroes it improves)

Diffusal Blade:
===============
(2000) 2x Blades of Alacrity
(450) Robe of the Magi
(850) Diffusal Blade Recipe
Total: 3300

22 Agility
6 Intelligence
Feedback (20 mana)
Purge 8 charges

Diffusal Blade Level 2:
=========================
(3300) Diffusal Blade
(850) Diffusal Blade Recipe
Total: 4150

26 Agility
10 Intelligence
Feedback (36 mana)
Purge 8 charges (upgrading to level 2 restocks your charges back to 8)

Note: You cannot restock charges by buying the recipe again. It only upgrades once.

Old Maelstrom:
==============
1400 Claymore
1400 Recipe
450 Boots of Elvenskin
Total: 3250

+25 Damage
+6 Agility
Chain Lightning

Maelstrom:
==========
1600 Mithril Hammer
900 Recipe
500 Gloves of Haste
Total: 3000

+24 Damage
+15 Attack Speed
Chain Lightning

Manta Style:
=============
2250 Yasha
2100 Ultimate Orb
500 Recipe

Gives:
+26 Agility
+10 Strength
+10 Intelligence
+15 Attack Speed
+10% Movement Speed
+Mirror Image (same as old one)
Images deal 33% (previously 40%)
Images take 350% (previously 300%)

Shrapnel:
==========
Fires a ball full of shrapnel into the air. which promptly explodes, showering the target area. Enemy units that walk in this area get damaged and slowed. Deals 30% damage to buildings. Shrapnel lasts for 10 seconds.

AOE: 450
Slow: 15/20/25/30
Slow Duration: 2
DPS: 10/20/30/40

Cast Range: 900
Cooldown: 15
Manacost: 120

Crystal Nova:
==============
AOE Damage: 80/130/180/230
AOE: 400
Slow Duration: 5
Attack Speed Reduction: 20%
Movement Speed Reduction: 30%

Cast Range: 700
Cooldown: 15
Manacost: 100/120/140/160

Adaptive Strike:
================
It now always stuns and damages.
The amount of the damage and stun varies depending on how much of each attribute you have relative to the other one.

If you have 50% more agility than strength, it deals the maximum of the damage and the minimum of the stun
If you have 50% more strength than agility, it deals the maximum of the stun and the minimum of the damage

Everything in between the two is a smooth transition from one to the other

Damage(lvl1): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 0.75xAgi
Damage(lvl2): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 1.5xAgi
Damage(lvl3): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 2.25xAgi
Damage(lvl4): Min: 0.25x Agility Max: 3.0xAgi

Stun(lvl1): Min: 0.25 Max: 0.75
Stun(lvl2): Min: 0.25 Max: 1.5
Stun(lvl3): Min: 0.25 Max: 2.25
Stun(lvl4): Min: 0.25 Max: 3.0

Min Knockback distance is 100, Max is 300

Storm Bolt:
============
Targets an area around an enemy unit and releases a magical hammer dealing damage and stunning enemy units.

Damage: 100/175/250/325
Stun Duration: 2
AOE: 250
CD: 14
Manacost: 140
Cast Range: 600

Warcry:
=======

With the righteous anger of one wielding justice, Sven lets loose a mighty Warcry, heartening his allies for battle. Sven and nearby allies gain movespeed and increased armor.

Movement Speed: 12%
Armor: 3/6/9/12
AOE: 350
Duration: 6
Cooldown: 36/30/24/18

Battle Trance:
===============
Jah'rakal unconsciously uses dormant magic to awaken the savagery of every warrior on the battlefield. Greatly increases attack speed for a short duration, and lasts an additional 4 seconds on Jah'rakal.

Attack Speed Bonus: 60/80/100
Duration: 4 seconds
Cooldown: 20
Manacost: 75

Note: This is a global spell.

Liquid Fire:
============
Straight from the belly of the beast, Jakiro slowly harnesses Liquid Fire when he attacks to burn his victims (175 AOE), and slow their attacks.

Damage Per Second: 10/15/20/25
Attack Speed Reduction: 20/30/40/50
AOE: 175
Duration: 5 seconds
Cooldown: 20/15/10/5

Note: Works on buildings

Fiery Soul:
=============
Passive
Whenever she casts a spell, she will gain temporary movement and attack speed bonus.

Duration: 5 seconds
Attack Speed Bonus: 20/30/40/50%
Movement Speed Bonus: 2/3/4/5%
Stacks with itself

Phantom Strike:
===============
Teleports to a unit and attacks it. Gains 100% attack speed for 3 seconds while attacking that same target. Maximum of 4 attacks.

Cooldown: 30/20/10/5
Manacost: 50

Old Multicast:
==============
lvl 1 - 20% for 2. [Scepter: 30% for 3]
lvl 2 - 20% for 3. [Scepter: 30% for 4]
lvl 3 - 20% for 4. [Scepter: 30% for 5]

New Multicast:
==============
lvl 1 - 30% for 2.
lvl 2 - 45% for 2 or 22.5% for 3
lvl 3 - 60% for 2 or 30% for 3 or 15% for 4.

No scepter upgrades

Example: Level 2 has 50% chance for at least 2x and a 25% for 3.

This displays overhead showing which multiplier of multicast was achieved.

Eyes In The Forest:
===================
Creates an enchanted tree at a target point, allowing Rooftrellen to see the tree's surrounding area at all times. Vision improves slightly per level.

Cast Range: 100
Cooldown: 300/225/150/75
Manacost: 100/75/50/25

Note: Creates a regular tree if cast on the Sentinel side and a dead tree if cast on the Scourge side. The trees are slightly brighter when they are enchanted.

Nethertoxin:
=============
Passive. Adds bonus damage to your attacks based on how low the target enemy is.

Level 1: 80-100=>2 60-80=>4 40-60=>8 20-40=>16 0-20=>32
Level 2: 80-100=>4 60-80=>8 40-60=>16 20-40=>32 0-20=>64
Level 3: 80-100=>6 60-80=>12 40-60=>24 20-40=>48 0-20=>96
Level 4: 80-100=>8 60-80=>16 40-60=>32 20-40=>64 0-20=>128

The equation is rather simple, it starts off with 2/4/6/8 bonus damage, and doubles each 20% missing hp.

For example, if this is level 3 and the target has 30% health, then you have 48 bonus attack damage.
If this is level 4 and the target has 15% health, then you have 128 bonus attack damage.

Gives half the bonus against creeps and buildings.

Mystic Snake:
=============
A mystic snake made of energy jumps from target to target dealing damage and stealing some energy. After it reaches its last target, it jumps back to Medusa to replenish her mana. The snake deals more damage and steals more mana per jump.

Jumps: 3/4/5/6
Damage: 60/100/140/180 + 20% each successful damage jump
Mana: 20/30/40/50 + 20% each successful mana drain jump

Example:
Target A: Unit with mana
Target B: Unit with no mana
Target C: Unit with mana
Target D: Unit with no mana
Target E: Unit with mana

At level 4:
Target A takes 180 damage and loses 50 mana
Target B takes 216 damage and loses 0 mana
Target C takes 252 damage and loses 60 mana
Target D takes 288 damage and loses 0 mana
Target E takes 324 damage and loses 70 mana

In this example, at level 4 cast spell, with a ranged creep and 2 heros both getting hit by it, you regenerate 50+60+70=180 mana

Manacost: 140/150/160/170
Cooldown: 12
Jump AOE: 475
Cast Range: 700

Stone Gaze:
===========
Any enemy units staring at the Gorgon will slowly turn to stone, removing status buffs and slowing all speed properties.

Gaze Duration: 5
AOE: 800
Speed Factor: 2/3/5
Damage to summoned units: 600/800/1000
Cooldown: 70
Manacost: 100/50/0

Doesn't affect units that are not able to see Medusa directly (if medusa is fogged or invisible, then enemy can't see her).

Direct line of sight is required.

#########
# Razor #
#########

Strength: 17 +1.9
Agility: 22 +2.5
Intelligence: 19 + 2.2

Attack Range: 475
Movement Speed: 295

Plasma Field:
-------------
Razor releases a wave energetic plasma which grows in power as it extends outwards. Deals damage to units both on expansion and on contraction. The further the plasma is from razor the more energy it has.

Minimum Charge Damage: 40/60/80/100
Max Charge Damage:70/105/140/175
Speed: 800
AOE: 600

Cooldown: 16
Manacost: 125

Note: This can hit a unit once going out and once coming back in. Charge increases to max going outwards, then decreases to min coming inwards. This is a full circle AOE effect, a radius of small electrical effects travel outwards. It spawns from where you are and moves out with you.

Unstable Current:
----------------
Passive. Increases the movement speed and reflects a static charge whenever targeted, dealing damage and purging the unit briefly.

Movement Bonus: 3/6/9/12%
Damage: 40/60/80/100
Purge Duration: 0.3/0.6/0.9/1.2

Note: Does not trigger on attack orbs like Poison Attack or Frost Arrows

Static Link:
------------
Taps into the energy of a target hero, creating a charged link between Razor and his foe. As long as this link is maintained, Razor will continue to steal damage from the target and adds it to his own.

Attack damage stolen per second: 5/10/15/20
Max link time: 10
Stolen duration: 13 seconds from link break.

Cast Range: 600
Break Range: 700

Manacost: 20/30/40/50
Cooldown: 45/40/35/30

Note: If you target a point on the ground, it will move in that path and lock onto the first hero it reaches. You have vision over the link itself.

Eye of the Storm:
------------------
The Lightning Revenant calls upon a powerful storm of crackling energy, which strikes weakened enemies with deadly bolts of lightning. The storm is charged with Razor's malevolent will, and will seek out only the most injured targets for its armor shattering blasts.

Damage: 37.5/50/62.5
Interval: 0.85/0.75/0.6
AOE: 500
Armor reduction per hit: 1 (stacks)

Duration: 20/25/30
Manacost: 100
Cooldown: 80/70/60

Damage dealt is physical. Only targets units in your vision.
This storm stops if Razor dies. Targets the lowest HP unit in the area.

############
# Batrider #
############

Strength: 23 + 2.5
Agility: 15 + 1.5
Intelligence: 24 + 2.5

Attack Range: 375
Movement Speed: 290

Cast Point 0.3
Attack Point 0.5
Hero Class: Intelligence

Sticky Napalm:
==============
Targets an area and drenches it in oil. Slows the movement speed and turn rate of units in that area. Extra casts of this on the same targets stacks.

Any fire damage from batrider will ignite the napalm, dealing damage for each stack.

Fire damage is any regular batrider attack, flamebreak or firefly

AOE: 375
Damage: 10/15/20/25
Slow: 3/5/7/9%
Turn rate reduction: 30%

Lasts 7 seconds (refreshes on hit)
Stack max: 10

Cast Range: 700
Manacost: 15
Cooldown: 3

Flamebreak:
==========
Hurls a highly explosive cocktail of dangerous chemicals at the target position. Upon impacting with an enemy the missile explodes, dealing damage and knocking all nearby foes away from the impact. Any unit who has been Napalmed will take additional damage from the blast.

Knocks back all units in the explosion area proportionally to how far they were from the center

Damage: 75/150/225/300
Max knockback: 400
Explosion AOE: 375
Detection AOE: 100
Damage: 75/150/225/300
Travel Distance: 1600

Manacost: 80/100/120/140
Cooldown: 11

Firefly:
===========
Flies high leaving a burning trail behind. Enemies who dare follow will get burned by the fiery napalm. Nothing can take the skies from him.

Trees in your path are killed by the fire.
Gives you flying pathing

Damage: 20/40/60/80 per second
AOE: 200
Spell Duration: 15
Pathing: Flying

CD: 40
Manacost: 100

Flaming Lasso:
===============
Snags a target with a constricting lasso, allowing the Batrider to drag them behind him as he moves.

Does not drag units over cliffs or impassable terrain.

If you TP or blink away or get ported away, the lasso breaks.

Cast Range: 175
Bind Range: 300
Manacost: 150
Cooldown: 130/90/50
Duration: 3/3.5/4

####################
# Tauren Chieftain #
####################

Strength: 24 + 2.7
Agility: 14 + 1.5
Intelligence: 23 + 1.6

Attack Range: 150
Movement Speed: 300

Cast Point 0.4
Attack Point 0.35
Hero Class: Strength

Since ancient times it has been prophesized by the Tauren elders that a Chieftain will come, strong as the mightiest warriors and wise as the eldest shamans. After many years of wandering the sacred lands, seeking wisdom from his forefathers, Cairne Bloodhoof has proven himself as the long awaited hero. Cairne carries with him the spirit of his mightiest ancestor, and now the ground shakes with the combined strength of the Chieftain and his guardian spirit. No physical nor magical barrier can reduce the power of his enchanted halberd, the weapon used by his guardian in ancient times. Such is the power of this axe that it can split the very earth itself. Seeking revenge for the ravaging of his homeland, Cairne will soon bring his wrath upon the Scourge.

Echo Stomp:
============
Calls upon the spirit of his ancestors to join him in an earth-shattering echo, rendering nearby foes unconcious. The spirit and Tauren Chieftain both deal 80 damage in the area, the Spirit dealing magical damage and the physical form dealing physical damage. Unconscious enemies will wake if they get hit. If the spirit is seperated from you, it will still perform its part of the spell.

If you damage a knocked out unit, it no longer becomes knocked out/immobile.

There is a spirit version of you doing the stomp animation with you at the same time (you can see it as well). You deal physical damage and it deals magical damage.

Physical Damage: 80
Magical Damage: 80
Channel Time: 1.4 seconds
AOE: 500
Knockout duration: 2/3/4/5 seconds
Manacost: 100/115/130/145
Cooldown: 15

Only player based damage can wake heroes. Damage dealt during a brief period after the stomp will not awaken heroes (0.65)

Ancestral Spirit:
=================
The Tauren Chieftain sends forth his guardian ancestor to bring ruin upon his foes. While seperate from the Chieftain, the spirit will mimic his movement and damage any unit it passes through. When it rejoins the Chieftain, it grants him bonus damage and movement speed for each enemy it has struck.

Magical Damage: 120/160/200/240
AOE: 275

Damage per creep: 3/6/9/12
movement speed per creep: 1%
Danage per hero: 10/20/30/40
movement speed per hero: 5%

Cooldown: 19
Manacost: 110
Max Charge Time: 8

If the spirit has not rejoined with you before that period, it will charge towards you to move back into you and enchant you.

Enchanted Time: 9 (The duration you have the buffs after the joining of the ancestral spirit)

Natural Order:
==============
Passive.

The Tauren Chieftain uses wisdom gathered throughout the ages to reduce everything to its most basic level. Removes base Magic and Physical resistance.

AOE: 250
Percentage nullification: 25%/50%/75%/100%

Note: This exists on the spirit as well.

Ultimate - Earth Splitter:
==========================
Using his mighty axe, the Tauren Chieften rends the very earth itself, sending a jagged crack under the feet of his enemies. After several seconds the earth implodes, sending his foes tumbling inwards. Any unit caught in the implosion will take damage based on their maximum life and have their speed slowed for a short time. Implodes after 3 seconds. Deals 35% of a unit's maximum HP.

Cast Range: 1600
Travel speed: 600 ms
Delay after maturity: 0.5 seconds
AOE: 350
Damage: 35% of each unit's maximum HP (half magical, half physical)
Slow Amount: 30/40/50%
Slow Duration: 3/4/5

Cooldown: 90/75/60
Manacost: 175

Example: You target a point, from where you are towards 1200 in the angle you click on, the split starts growing.
The split grows at 600 ms, so it takes 2 seconds to reach the end.
After it reaches the end, it plays an animation preparing for the implosion for 0.5 seconds and then it pulls everyone in and does the dmg/maim.

###########
## Notes ##
###########

Thanks to everyone that helped test this version and to all the players that have sent their feedback and requests in. There are many changes in this patch, some depend on the other one, so you'll need to play it a bit to get a good idea for how things play out in practice. That being said, don't hesitate to give me your first impressions and your overall feelings towards the update. There will probably be a 6.60b or a 6.61 to follow this one, so let me know any mistakes you find or any suggestions for stuff to change.

Spore - Overrated gameplay, Underrated game development

2009-06-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

Tribal Phase of Spore I played

Just last Saturday, I had the chance to play Will Wright's so-called "next big thing" which is the Spore. Four years or more of development, hyped up presentations by Will Wright thru Game Developers Conference, E3 and this game has received most of the positive and negative criticisms alike last year upon its release.

While many game critics applauded its one of a kind god-mode gameplay concept, they quickly threw away its promise as the countdown of its release diminished. Gamers and review writers alike were caught in the middle of game thinking "That's it?" and yes, truthfully, that's it. With all the design, procedural programming, autonomy and other brilliant ideas popping out in this unique game, the gameplay lacked length and depth. In the cellullar phase, creatures need to eat and eat and eat to survive. And that's just about it. And so forth and so on that every phase features a short length of gameplay that you'll crave for more. For the hype it has been, and for all the salestalk on how this game can easily surpass the best selling game of all time - The Sims, it couldn't live up as the golden franchise. But don't get me wrong. I was one of those fans of Will Wright who criticized gaming review sites for rating it lower than what is expected of it. And yet 8 months or so after its release, after playing it for the first time, I was shocked myself with the lack of depth. However, for those people who loved The Sims, I'm expecting positive feedback from them because they play with excitement and imagination towards the game. Exploration, autonomy and creature and object designers are its selling point.

And while it has gaming review sites quick to forget and regret they rode the bandwagon that this game is, they were also, sadly, quick to dispose appreciation of its game development. If you've followed Will Wright's speeches regarding the unique attack on game development and how it is applied into a real game which is the Spore, you will be amazed at how this was actually ever cleverly done and brought to life. And as a developer too, I am still amazed at the brilliant concepts they've put into the game. If you've played The Sims 3, you'll be quick to notice that maybe just maybe, some of the Spore's concepts were adapted to it as well. Just as Nintendo has started to attract casual and non-gamers alike to play our games, maybe other game developers especially the mother game producer Electronic Arts as well must learn to adapt its ideas. Sure graphics is clearly the way to go to attract gamers but money spent on production of these games are not getting cheaper by the minute. More and more game developers are required to work on the game's physics, graphics and other eyecandy which tends to getaway with the actual gameplay quality.

Spore maybe failed on its way to becoming such a great legacy game that gamers will look upon on. However, don't take away the brilliance of its creation. It's still one of a kind. And maybe you won't find anything like this again. Let's learn to appreciate how games were developed and not just on how these games are played. After all, gameplay comes after game design.

What's Next After The Sims 3?

2009-06-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

What's Next After The Sims 3

I’ve only spent a few hours playing The Sims 3 to fantasize at what lies ahead of this historic franchise. The Sims 3 is in pretty good shape and GameSpot surprisingly rated it as 9.0. The virtual community with no loading time and the simplified and more enhanced sim meters will surely give the players a lot of time to spend more on the details of Will Wright's legendary game.

Yet apart from this, I thought it would be great to expect these things which I have in mind in the sure fire expansion packs coming along our way and perhaps even begin dreaming of The Sims 4:

Weather/ Climate - Following the early stages of The Sims 3 in production, I do recall (or maybe I'm just daydreaming of it) something about the adaptation of the weather in the game. Though I haven't played the Seasons expansion pack for The Sims 2, I think it would be a great addition to the virtual community.

Pets/ Animals - As always, Sims gamers expect pets to be included in the package. Imagine your Sim jogging along with his pet in Sunset Valley. It's also great to include birds chirping on top of your Sims roof, fishes in the aquarium, dolphins on the ocean, stray cats and dogs and maybe even exotic animals.

Sim City - On The Sims 2, gamers were delighted to here that if you have Sim City, you can incorporate it with the game. However, to others, it was quite a disdain to hear that only created lots from Sim City are allowed to be imported to The Sims 2. While I haven't tried it out yet, don't you think it's time to start incorporating some of the nifty logic and features in Sim City to The Sims franchise? Building bridges, circus shows, flyovers, tunnels, subway may be a good addition too.

The Trends and Fashion - Everyone knows this is one of the best selling points of The Sims. Customization and Design. How about making it into a fad on your community? This idea came into my mind when I remembered the yester decades. Imagine having some trends being popularized by your Sim or other Sims as well during the decade? Sporting something like Ashton Kutcher's outfit in That 70's Show would become a fad and then other sims will be wearing those kinds of outfit as well.

Travel - Well, the virtual community (in which I still think came from the idea of Grand Theft Auto) has certainly gotten the attention of the gamers especially the biking and riding a car part. As the franchise continues to improve, why not add intercontinental or perhaps inter-community travel thru seas and the skies.

Special Abilities - Ever wondered how the Sims would look like with special abilities ala Heroes, Marvel, DC Comics or even Anime? Imaging the Sims flying, being immortal (well it has happened before), getting elemental powers like fire and water? Not being hurt? This sure will be a great fun factor to the game. Also, why did they take back the Alien-thingy?

Sims in Mars/ Mythical Tribes - Just to add to the fun factor that the game is, how about making Sims actually live on other planets? Or perhaps under the sea like mermaids? Live like the Vikings, Cowboys, Indians and other cultures? Maybe co-exist with other mythical creatures like the dragon, unicorn and phoenix as well?

Community Mini-games/ Events - While I was impressed with the mini-games/ events that the game (latest version that is) has shown to us, there are a lot of things in real life that they might consider adding in the game. For example, rush hour traffic before going to work? Surely, they have found a way to incorporate transportation. But in a more realistic way, they could include driving as a mini-game too like putting the pedal on to a full stop if sims are crossing the street. Inter-community sports activities, watching a basketball game as an audience simulated by the game, pet competitions and other trivial but real life situations often neglected.

Object aging - Ok so the sims are actually getting older, dying, getting pregnant and giving birth. Why not evolve the game and let the logic happen to the objects and communities as well? We all know that our homes deteriorate thru time. Roads are also reconstructed since it also needs repair from massive transportation load everyday. Even our computers, furniture and appliances need replacement as well as time goes by. Other sims may also automatically upgrade their homes as though they are actually controlled by the gamer. For example, on the first generation, Goth Family buys a bungalow. However, the second generation has been successful in his career, they thought of adding a new floor, buying a new car, expanding their lots as on the other hand, other families may experience bankruptcy or moving on to another place in generations to come.

Outbreak/ Natural Calamities - This is perhaps a negative input though but hey like it or not, in our daily lives we encounter these things. If real people get diseases and recover from them, why not let the Sims experience it. Of course, there’d be hospitals etc. Sims won’t be able to go to work and skin diseases like chicken pox will let them experience the feeling of being an outcast for the moment from other sims.

Additional movement - I was very much delighted with the great deal of movement controls the game offered. But talking about other basics such as being able to jump, run and other stuff would also be a very nice addition. It would also be great if they add a custom action creation for the sims. Players may be allowed to create their own menu of things they’d do and when the choices begin to pop up for them, they’d choose the option and see how the action’s consequences are in a positive or negative way.

Well I guess that’s just about it. Like it or not the Sims franchise will still have that great of an influence to gamers and will still have a long way to go. I certainly hope so. So as an avid fan, let’s hope for a continually improving Sims game especially now that Will Wright is hands-off to the Sims). Kudos to Rod Humble and the rest of the Sims 3 team though.

Konami Code in Facebook and other sites

2009-06-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

I've heard that Konami Code works on Facebook too weeks ago. And to my surprise, it still works as of this writing. Go ahead try it. I've captured a screenshot of the flare but here is a YouTube video of how it works.

Also, you may want to take a look at other sites with Konami Codes written there at this site. Enjoy!

Detecting authenticity of photos and videos thru JPEGsnoop

2009-05-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

I just came across this app which detects the authenticity of your photos and videos. I am not aware that these programs do exist and I just would like to share this info I've learned to you.

This program is called JPEGsnoop. It's a nice little freeware program and I've actually tried this to compare shots taken from a Nikon camera versus an Adobe Lightroom-edited shot of mine taken from a Canon 400d SLR and it worked! As simple as that, the program noticed that the first photo is an original and the second one is edited.

Feel free to download it and try to verify if your friend's photos are edited or not.

Sony PSP Go

2009-05-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6210555/16gb-psp-go-revealed-early-new-psp-mgs-confirmed

The new version of PSP called PSP Go has been officially announced as well as presented right before the E3 according to GameSpot. While it is supposed to be the rival release of Sony against Nintendo's DSi, I was shocked at the GUI. Like other forum posters at GameSpot, I'd say it's a boo boo on the eyecandy part. Here's hoping they'd release a new version of PSP and not just a redesign. Oh and Nintendo is also having a difficult time evolving its handheld console DS. It's been a long time since there was a new handheld console system introduced by Nintendo. Are they running out of ideas?

Recently, a rumored new Microsoft gamepad is circulating which is supposed to feature motion detection. And Sony is in the process of diving into casual gaming too. Will this be the signal of embrace into casual gaming by Sony and Microsoft? If they do so, Nintendo will be at a difficult situation here since they aren't into high-specification gadgets yet.

My First AJAX-based code

2009-05-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

So here I am, a happy go lucky programmer journeying, researching, just trying to improve my skills. Recently, I just attended an AJAX overview training. Here, I tried to get one step closer to become a net-based developer. Basically, this program I'm about to share to you is my first step to AJAX and the web development - yet again. Although this code is directly based on w3schools.com, I learned a lot about Web 2.0 today which I, as a professional developer, should have known years ago regarding its technology and its counterparts like Adobe Flex, Microsoft Silverlight and Google Web Toolkit.

Name:
Time:

Farm Town Tips and Tricks

2009-05-10T03:07:00.001-07:00

My Farm Town

The Realtor's Office

The Inn

Farm Town Tips and Tricks

Another app and another game from Facebook. This game is quite simple - plow, plant then harvest. As an owner of the farm, you are tasked to manage the farm and visit other farmer's towns as well too. But leveling up isn't as easy here unlike Pet Society. Here are a few things you might get interested to in doing if you want to level up as quickly as possible here:

1. For starters, the best option you have of earning money and plowing all the way is either through harvesting your friends' plantation or be lucky enough to get someone to hire you at the Market Place. In this way, you will be able to increase your capital and immediately be able to plow a lot in your own field.

2. Let others harvest your crops. No one around online in your neighbourhood? Don't get tempted to harvest your own crops. While it is true that you will earn money from this, money earned from others harvesting your crops leads you to 25% more profit than yourself harvesting your crops alone. Even when your crops are about to go to waste, there are other options to harvest this and it is by staying in the Market Place, the Inn or the Realtor's Office and hiring other farmers there.

3. Plow and plant as much your farm can accommodate as possible. If you want to quickly gain experience points as much as possible, think of designing your farm later. You need as much space to plow as possible in your lot. And adding fences, animals, barns, ponds, etc occupy what is supposed to be planted by crops won't let you earn profit faster.

4. Plant grapes seeds often if you are always online. Grapes earns you quite a small profit, tedious enough because you'll have to harvest it after just 4 hours of planting and has higher risks of going into waste. However, if you want to gain experience immediately and you're always on the PC, get those grapes planted quite often. I'd recommend you usually do this during weekends if you have lots of time to spend to online.

5. Visit the neighbourhood everyday. Just like in Pet Society, you earn 6 experience points per first visit of the day at your neighbour's farm. If you have friends whom you haven't added in the neighbourhood yet, just wait and a message will be sent to you informing that you'll have a job at their farm waiting for you. In this way, you're still gaining experience points even if your friend has not yet accepted you as his neighbour in the game.

6. Buy lot upgrade as quickly as possible. Lots are quite expensive and it gets even more expensive once you level up. I suggest you buy a lot upgrade whenever possible immediately. Profit gained from planting crops with the extra tiles you have available to plow to won't let you earn the money spent on buying the lot immediately but it will definitely have a lot of benefits as time goes buy. Besides, you'll be able to receive around 250+ experience points just for the sake of buying it.

Well, I guess that's about it. In the post "stacking" era, these are ways you can level up faster at Farm Town. Eventhough stacking, which is definitely a bug in the game's beta version, has been fixed and quite exploited by seasoned farm town players, there are definitely other ways to level up faster and more appropriate way. Just like the addition of grapes and its 4-hour harvest-ready crops. Hope you find this helpful and have fun harvesting!

Axife Mouse Recorder on Pet Society

2009-04-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

Axife Mouse Recorder on Pet Society

On the previous blog, I mentioned tips and tricks on how to level up in Pet Society the old fashioned honest to goodness way. In this article, we will be featuring a technique on how to "automate" leveling up using the Visit and Hug Technique I mentioned in the previous article. This was courtesy of the blog I found upon researching for bot techniques in Pet Society.

Download the demo version of Axife Mouse Recorder here. Then, install Axife and open your Facebook/ MySpace account. Record the Visit and Hug Technique with moderate delays as possible then stop recording. Repeat the process by selecting the two-pet iteration and then click the Options icon. On the Playback Tab, on the Number of repeats check the Repeat forever button then press Ok.

Play the iteration and verify if it actually does what it is supposed to do. Voila! It actually works!

Drawbacks:
1. Do take note though that you must leave your computer as is with no interruptions whatsoever in the coordinates of the mouse cursor.

2. While it actually works, high level pets will mean that the 5-paw-point-2-coin technique will take you a longer time to
leave the computer behind doing the automation.

3. Take note of the food and hygiene bars. While Axife is actually doing the technique for you, your pet also is exhausted at the process. You need to feed and clean him up time and time again. Failure to do so will consequently slow your pet making your automation process left behind in the delay you have already set in the recorded process.

4. Level up problem. While you have left your computer behind, chances are there will come a time that you have reached the maximum paw points to level up. An additional message box will appear as a part of this process and this is not recorded in your original automation. To counter this, you have to perform a double click once your pet has successfully "hugged" the other pet purposely as though you are anticipating the level up message box to pop up.

There you go! Have fun leveling up!

Pet Society Tips and Tricks

2009-04-20T04:25:00.000-07:00

Pet Society Tips and Tricks

While the Facebook fad that is Playfish's Pet Society is being outsourced by MySpace now, a lot of people are still getting addicted to this Sims-like, Nintendog-like online flash game.

Here are a few tips and tricks I would like to share with you based on experience on the fastest ways on how to level up in the Pet Society with no cheats whatsoever. I must admit that these tips and tricks can be found on a lot of Pet Society fan sites as well but heck, I did discover these things myself.

1. Visit all friends Technique - The more friends with pets you have, the more you garner experience points. There are 5 paw points + 20 coins for your first visit of the day. Unconciously, while browsing thru your friends' pets, you are leveling up and earning money. Do keep in mind that you must visit all your friends' pets regularly to earn these "default" paw points and coins.

2. The Visit and Hug Technique - While at the lowest levels, this technique should do the trick for you. After visiting all the pets around the neighborhood, select the lowest two pets in your friends list. Visit then hug the first one. And then visit the second to the lowest pet. Repeat this technique and you'll gain paw points faster. You must be wondering why you should be picking the last two pets in your list. This is mainly because most of the lowest level pets don't have furnitures, additional clothing, designs in their rooms. This avoids causing lag in the game which also adds to the boredom you're experiencing when the repetitive tasks are at hand. With the default visit and hug technique, you'll garner 5 paw points in a jiffy.

3. Visit and Feed Apples Technique - Before your first visit of all your friends' pets, buy as much apples as you want to at the Food Shop. Why apples? It is the cheapeast food you could possibly feed them and your pet as well. You can also choose other five-coin foods as well such as corn too if you want to. Then on your first visit, take note of those pets with less than full heart bars. Feed them apples even if they only have the slightest difference in their heart bars. You gain an additional 17 paw points and an additional 2 coins after feeding them. The additional 2 coins will your consolation as every feed of apple is actually costing you only 3 coins per feed of pets. After visiting all your friends' pets, go home and save your game status. Reconnect to Pet Society and then repeat the process again. The pets whom you've feeded apples to will have their heart bars reset back to their initial state before you came and fed them apples in your previous visit. I recommend doing this for Level 15 and up.

4. Visit and Clean Technique - This is just almost the same as the previous technique, however, you're just inspecting their hygiene bars. I don't particularly know the exact paw points you're getting for the hygiene bars but randomly you'll be having 6, 13 or 20+ paw points with the addition of 2 coins per satisfaction the pet is having from your cleaning.

5. Give a Gift and Send Back Technique - This technique was actually a friend's advice. If you have saved tons of money, buy something expensive enough. Buying expensive items already earns you huge paw points. However, giving them as gifts to your close friends whom you are leaving a message behind stating you want them back in return they'll be having huge paw points as well by sending them back as a gift is a faster way of leveling up. I have experienced giving gifts with a reward of 47 paw points. The only drawback here is how fast your friends will send these gifts back and how fast the time spent for sending these gifts will happen.

6. Open multiple accounts simultaneously Technique - Have you created another account just for the sake of Pet Society? Or do you have friends which have their log-in credentials saved in your computer? You can open them simultaneously by opening different browsers at the same time in your computer. You can opt to install other browsers as well like Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera if you want to. Do the Give a Gift and Send Back technique like madness once get this going. One disclaimer though, do take note that you are only purposely logging-in other accounts for the purpose of leveling up in Pet Society.

7. Low Food and Hygiene Bars Pact Technique - So most of the previously mentioned techniques have gotten you to the leveling all by yourself. Now, it's time to make an agreement with your friends to leave their food (heart) bars and hygiene bars as low as possible before leaving the game. In this way, you are helping yourselves level up because there are more pets to feed thus further gaining paw points for yourself. Do the Visit and Feed Technique like crazy with Give a Gift and Send Back technique as a combination to your buddies.

Well I guess that's about it. If ever I'll be getting addicted to Pet Society again and I'll discover techniques by myself or my colleagues as well, I'll be keeping you posted. Have fun playing!

Element Tower Defense

2009-04-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

Element Tower Defense

Aside from Defense of the Ancients All-Stars, Tower Defense games such as Element Tower Defense have been quite popular in Garena. Tons of Garena players are still playing Warcraft not because of its long-term support thru patches but because of custom-made maps. And in this article, we feature a bit of trivia about Element Tower Defense - a Warcraft custom-made map.

Unlike DoTA wherein multiplayer is required (well, for now IceFrog's also keeping the map with AI available at getdota.com) and a series of complex item building, strategy between players and attracts attention because of the competitive level, you can play this map by simply creating a game, choosing the map and voila you can actually play it by yourself.

Although I have just played it thrice in Garena along with my friends, it is quite a stress-free game with only one purpose - defend yourself by creating towers. There are six elements in which the gameplay revolves into - Fire, Nature, Earth, Wind, Light and Darkness. At first, there are the basic towers - Arrow and Cannon to help you defend from mediocre enemies. Then, after every 5 levels, a lumber is rewarded to you. In this way, you can summon an enemy with a particular elemental type you have to defend to. Successfully killing it would automatically lend their powers to you. There are five levels for each type of elements. After you've successfully defended yourself from the first level, you will automatically be able to summon the next level elemental - assuming you have a lumber available.

The gameplay reaches its peek when you have successfully defended yourself from 60 waves of creeps plus the elementals you've summoned. Once at level 60, guess who you'll be defending yourself from? Ronald McDonald! The game goes on until you have ran out of lives from defending yourself. In actuality, Ronald will keep on getting stronger until you can't defend yourself from him anymore.

Multiplayer

Basically, there are eight slots available for the multiplayer mode. In this mode, players just have to successfully defend themselves. Once their lives are over, the winner will be determined by the number of kills he had from his tower defense.

Wanna try it? For more info, you can download the map and get detailed FAQ by visiting http://www.eletd.com. Have fun gaming!

Prince of Tennis National Championship Finals: Sanada vs Tezuka

2009-02-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

Prince of Tennis National Championship Finals Summary
by Shindo Hikaru

Summit Showdown!

Sanada, Yukimura and Tezuka's past is revealed. Ryoma Echizen is missing and Momoshiro is out there looking for him together with Atobe riding in a helicopter. Sanada and Tezuka battle it out at the Singles 3. Sanada used the following techniques to answer Tezuka:

Swift Like the Wind
Fuu - Wind, Rin - Woods, Ka - Fire, Zan - Mountain
Quiet Like the Forest
Invade Like Fire
Immovable Like a Mountain
Strike Like Lightning

Unpredictable Like a Shadow - Sanada's sealed ultimate techniques that leaves no trace of weakness and gives off multiple behavioral patterns so that opponents would not be able to read his movements.
Fuu - Wind, Rin - Woods, Ka - Fire, In - Shadow, Zan - Mountain, Rai - Lightning

Meanwhile Tezuka used the following in order to answer Sanada:

Tezuka Zone
Hyaku-Ren Jitoku (Pinnacle of Hard Work)
Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Great Wisdom)
Zero-Shiki Drop Shot
Tezuka Phantom - Tezuka Zone with an opposite effect

Sanada explained that Hyaku-Ren Shitoku no Kiwami was defeated by Lightning and Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami was defeated by Shadow which triggered Tezuka to use the Tezuka Phantom. He used the technique until the end which caused his left arm to sore while Sanada used the Fuu-Rin-Ka-In-Zan-Rai which caused Sanada's legs to sore when he was down 4 to 5 in favor of Tezuka. Atobe, Fuji and Ryuuzaki-sensei both said that Tezuka is sacrificing his left arm again for Seigaku's dreams. Ooishi fell into his knees and began to cry. Yukimura explained to him that for Rikkai Dai to win its third consecutive title, he must stop using his ultimate technique and throw it away for Tezuka to not be able to predict when he will be using Fuu-Rin-Ka-In-Zan-Rai again. However, upon leading the game, he brought it up again to have a head-on challenge against Tezuka because it would be against Rikkai Dai to win without using his sealed technique.

Sanada recalled Rikkai Dai's second consecutive championship win in which he was defeated by Tezuka and told to himself that he won't be able to defeat Tezuka ever. In the end, Sanada won the game 7-5 with Tezuka's shot falling short of the cord ball using his Tezuka Zone.

If I were a Handheld console manufacturer...

2009-02-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

With Nintendo and Sony releasing their third generation of DS and PSP, I think most of the handheld console owners are now wondering what's next in the future on Handheld gaming?

The iPod Touch Potential

Recently, a friend of mine bought an iPod touch and to my surprise it runs Java-based applications though it can only work on iTunes. The handheld touch-based media player has got me interested more on its true potential as a serious handheld platform. Sure there is Nintendo's DS which attracted most of its current owners with its unique gameplay features but of course as the years progress, gamers demand more on both the handheld manufacturer and game developers as well. Sony's PSP has attracted those gamers who want superior visual and audio in gaming than that of the DS. Also, its browsing, TV-out and media capabilities have made it even more interesting.

With the rumors that Microsoft is supposedly to release its own version of a handheld console to rival Nintendo and Sony, many are wondering if they are capable of pulling such a thing. Sony's still got baby steps and still have a long way to go to reach Nintendo. But if we take a look at the success of the Playstation 1 and 2, they have what it takes to challenge the long time handheld console giant Nintendo.

The next generation handheld consoles may be years away from release even the product conception may still be in the alpha stage. However, I think it may be a bit difficult for these giant companies to top their own current handheld consoles specifically Nintendo. Knowing the success of Wii, gamers expect more creativeness and more gameplay from them. Sony on the other hand only needs to further innovate and develop a strong series of franchise-building games incorporated in their handheld consoles.

Maybe they should take a long hard look and consideration on iPod Touch's technology. Maybe they should just allow more customizable features to be developed in their consoles. Recently, exclusivity is taking a toll on the public's acceptance of gadgets nowadays.

What I wanted on a handheld console would be iPod Touch's technology. Gameplay plus iPod Touch's technology and Nintendo's innovative dual screen will be a console to reckon with. Nintendo's originality reinvented. With lots of successful franchise games released by Nintendo, don't you think it's time to create new franchise games for the new generation of gamers? Sure they have attracted casual gamers into the world of gaming. But don't ever forget the hardcore gamers who are forever embracing the gaming industry. Squaresoft should also take this one seriously. Improved visuals and audio capability is also a must considering players nowadays demand more since they are exposed to PS3 and XBOX 360's visuals.

Game manufacturers definitely would like to create a handheld console for the ages. But given the ever-changing technology, demands of the gamers and cost of game manufacturing and game development, gameplay is still the most important part of the game and it is what gamers are entertained for.

How to play Real Media files

2008-12-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered how to play real media files without installing Real Media Player? Try Real Alternative. Current version is 1.90 and it also includes Media Player Classic which is a player that rivals VLC and GOM Player for that all-in-one video player for all codecs.

Happy Downloading in this last day of 2008! Looking for more blogs to enrich our knowledge in IT!

Cyberlink YouCam and CD-R King PC Camera

2008-12-29T18:35:00.000-08:00

At the recent Christmas Party, I received a present which is the CD-R King Webcam. Yey! It's easy to install, fast and smooth. I tried installing an application called Cyberlink YouCam and yeah it worked for my web cam. It's an application for adding custom backgrounds, animations and even face warps for a fun and exciting way of utilizing your web cam.

Anyways, eventhough this PC Camera (as CD-R King has classified it as such) is not on a superb level of quality, it is a bang per buck web cam since it is easy to use and comes with a driver. If you're wondering what its specs are, here it is:

•	Product Name: PC Camera 5.0 Mega Pixels (U2)
•	Software Interpolation: 5.0 Mega Pixels for Image Capturing
•	With Face Tracking, Special Photo Effects, and Photo Frame Feature - DirectX 9.0 needed
•	Face Tracking is available only from 800 x 600 below.
•	Interface: USB 1.1 / 2.0
•	Color Depth: RGB24; I420
•	Frame Rate: 30 fps
•	S/N Ratio: 48dB
•	Gamma: 0.47
•	Grayscale: 8 scale
•	Aperture Range: F2.0 / F3.60
•	Focus Range: 8.0mm to infinity
•	Compatible with Yahoo Messenger, Skype, Live MSN
•	Compatible with XP and Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, Vista Black Edition.
•	With snapshot button

You can also find these specs on the official CD-R King Website.

Here is the site where you can find downloads of face warps, emotions and background animations for your Cyberlink YouCam.

To import an Emotion Effect file in YouCam, just click the folder icon and browse thru the DZP files you've downloaded and that's it! You're good to go!

Have fun using the Web Cam!

How to resize a partition in Windows Vista

2008-12-28T05:12:00.000-08:00

What's up? While I was having a long hiatus (again!?) in blogging... I'm currently addicted to photography as of the moment so I'll be leaving a digital print here first by finding a digged partitioning tip in Vista. Apparently, Vista does not support Partition Magic so I'll try this link out later at my cousin's Compaq laptop.

Here is the link: How to resize a partition in Windows Vista

Have fun and enjoy the holiday vacation everyone!

NBA 2K9 will be released for the PC

2008-10-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

While an avid fan of the NBA Live series, it is a surprising disappointment that perhaps one of the best releases of the series which is NBA Live 09 will not be released on the PC this year. This is probably a repercussion of all those bugs that PC gamers have been enduring all throughout their every year release. And in this year, although I think they really wanted a PC version released, they simply just can't handle it given its yearly release even if lots of its followers are on the PC platform.

Also, surprisingly, with the plans for future NBA Live release on the PC currently on hold, they may be rethinking it as the NBA 2K series is about to release their Xbox 360 port of the series coming into life on the PC platform for the first time. This is really a huge leap in basketball gaming and what a time to come since lots of NBA Live PC gamers won't experience one the best in the NBA Live series in the PC.

The future of NBA gaming is really hyped up now. Good luck to both franchise as the quality of games to be released this year is way up. Here is the link of the NBA 2k9 news on its release for the PC:

http://www.nba-live.com/index.php?comm_start_from=10&archive=1222837868&subaction=showcomments&id=1222790981&ucat=1&

Amazon's Canon Listmania!

2008-10-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Whether you're a budding photographer or not, here are some suggested lens, gadgets and other accessories which may help improve your photography - Canon 400D photography I should say:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-DSLR-System-non-professional-consumer/lm/R11L506LJ1A7JC/ref=cm_lmt_dtpa_f_2_rdssss0?pf_rd_p=253470501&pf_rd_s=listmania-center&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0007Y794O&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=16B7H0NNMGWZFJANKPDV

http://www.amazon.com/XTi-beginers-starter-kit/lm/R2XA52YOOAIXXR/ref=cm_lmt_dtpa_f_1_rdssss0?pf_rd_p=253470501&pf_rd_s=listmania-center&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0007Y794O&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=16B7H0NNMGWZFJANKPDV

http://www.amazon.com/A-Complete-Canon-D-SLR-Setup/lm/AX3Q1X85HZWG/ref=cm_lmt_dtpa_f_3_rdssss0?pf_rd_p=253470501&pf_rd_s=listmania-center&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0007Y794O&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=16B7H0NNMGWZFJANKPDV

Happy clicking!

OpenDisc replaces Software for Starving Students

2008-09-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

I've tried downloading the ISO of Software for Starving Students a year ago and was very much delighted to see a compilation of freeware packaged in one disc though I never got to use it. It's a great help to beginners using the computer and aside from saving money from buying purchased software, this is a very nice medium of introducing apps which are less popular compared to their commercial counterpart but has everything a user needs.

The now defunct Software for Starving Students has now been replaced by OpenDisc. More info can be found at their site. I just took a quick peek at the site. The last update was about three to four months ago. Perhaps the open source community is having a difficulty supporting their initiated products since it is free and has no real actual source of income.

The list of programs available in OpenDisc can be found here. You can download them as a single disc - the compiled version called OpenDisc, or you can download them individually as an application by visiting their own sites.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi - Canon 400D

2008-09-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Just posting a quick update regarding my purchase of a second hand dSLR, the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I will be receiving the unit later together with the kit lens and also included is the bag. Wish me luck!

With fellow and even more experienced photographers from APerturista, they've recommended an el cheapo fast lens for me - the Canon 50mm f1.8 lens. Well, there's also this f1.4 lens available. However it is triple the cost and while I'm not really a pro, just a hobbyist photographer, I'll be preferring the cheapo lens.

So it leaves me with the last part of the "SLR project" which is the external flash. I kind of thought that this is a must have for me since I really want to learn more about low light photography and experience it at the same time.

I'll post my updates real soon once I get a hold of this!

Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens

2008-09-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

Lens, lens, lens... as I move closer and closer to the world of SLR and Photography, I still find myself shocked at the lens prices even if I get to browse through their prices everyday.

Here is what I am targeting to buy:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-135mm-USM-Lens-Cameras/dp/B000053HC5

Although it's nearly impossible to have this kind of lens for me, (well I still even can't imagine myself shooting with an SLR and an external flash) I think it is really a bang-per-buck recommended lens which is quite a semi-all-around lens especially for me who's long been way overdue dreaming of shooting in low light photography.

Spore Game Review at Gamespot

2008-09-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

A few days to go before the official shipping of this so called first god-game, GameSpot has reviewed the 5-year-old game that Will Wright has long been waiting to release.

As casual as the game may sound, may play, may look and even be too mediocre for hardcore gamers, I'm frankly disappointed on how GameSpot lets itself run a business by being an iconic gaming review site by always and always giving biased bad ratings over these type of games. Anything not hyped with action, gore, blood and not called Grand Theft Auto will definitely produce such a low rating for them.

Going back to the game Spore itself, isn't it that GameSpot itself reported on how their writers got amazed on how this game may change the gaming industry itself on Will Wright's speech in the Game Developers Conference circa 2005?

Is this how the way hardcore gamers really see the value of this one of a kind game? Perhaps this low of a rating given to the Spore gets the biased and largely irrelevant comparison between Spore's rating and a Super Paper Mario in the Wii console rating?

Yes it may seem difficult to believe in your own rating of the game as a writer and be the representative of GameSpot letting other review sites know that they felt it was just a so-so game but quite easily, this is one of the best games even of the decade. Let's just see and wait on how the rating of other gaming review sites will be for this game. I'm sure players who bought it will really have a far better rating than GameSpot and hopefully will give justice to this game.

Google Chrome now available for download

2008-09-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

Another Google product is coming our way. They've got an image editing tool, instant messenger, map of the world and now let's us know how a browser should be done - the Google Chrome.

Recently, the Google Chrome had a 39-page comic strip detailing how the new browser is bound to take how we do our business in the internet seriously.

Once you've finished reading or perhaps skimming through the comic strip - well it's actually worth the read if you have the time to look at it, you'll find the installer up for grabs here.

I haven't gone to the detailed usage of the browser but all I can say is that this approach, considering it is open source, is definitely a huge step for browsers. It's light and quite easy to use. Apart from it, developers who may want to take a look at the code may be able to do so because it is open source.

GameSpot's Sony PSP-3000 Hands-on

2008-08-31T03:56:00.001-07:00

You may want to check out the first hands-on of the Sony PSP-3000 - the new version of PSP which includes the most notable features such as anti-glare, built-in mic and "wider color gamut and anti-reflection technology".

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6196930/index.html?tag=topslot;readlink;3

Rumors say that Sony is trying to add more games into their handheld console library that is why they are prolonging the existence and creating new models for the PSP. For a gamer's point of view it may be quite helpful because we have currently 3 home gaming consoles and 2 handheld consoles to play with and constant new versions in the hardware will definitely be quite confusing for casual gamers who have been in pacing slowly in terms of adapting to the gaming world.

Video Editing in Adobe Experience

2008-08-31T03:30:00.000-07:00

A very busy weekend last week I should say has prevented me from posting numerous blogs as I enter the world of video editing once again. We were assigned to create a presentation with only photos as inputs for it. We had a difficulty doing so because it won't be that interesting if photo animation along with the text effects have to capture the interest of the audience.

I have already graduated from using these following tools before delving in deeper to the world of Adobe:

Microsoft Photo Story
Sony Vegas
Windows Movie Maker
Microsoft Office Powerpoint
Cyberlink Power Director Pro

While brainstorming, my teammate has suggested doing the animation in Adobe After Effects. Frankly, I never knew anything about it and have only seen Adobe Premiere Pro as a video editing tool of interest but had no actual experience in it. With the help of YouTube and googling about quick tips on how to make videos, we finished the project at hand using the following tools:

Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Photoshop
ZapGrab
SwishMax

A huge help in pushing thru with After Effects was this site: http://www.videocopilot.net/

Although we never got that far with the app, we really had our eyes fixed on how experience in After Effects would open up tons of ideas and possibilities using it.

Here is a sample animation we've done in After Effects which we've followed thru YouTube:

New version of PSP to be released on October 2008

2008-08-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

The third version of the PSP series called PSP-3000 will be released this October. The news came from EA during the Leipzig Games Convention at Germany.

Nothing much has changed in the new version of the PSP except these notable additions (quoted from Gamespot):

SCEA's announcement gave more concrete details about the PSP-3000 and Sony's plans for it outside Europe. The handheld is the same width as the PSP-2000, the slimmer model Sony unveiled at E3 2007, and will sport the same video output functionality. However, the new model will now output gameplay in interlaced video format compatible with non-progressive video displays.

More significant new additions to the new PSP include a redesigned LCD screen that boasts "more natural and vibrant colors" and "anti-reflection technology" to foil glare. The handheld will also sport a built-in microphone for use with the PSP's Skype functionality and voice-enabled games, eliminating the need for an external headset.

Another change visible on the PSP-3000 is the replacement of the "home" button on its front with a button bearing the PlayStation logo. The switch prompted rumors that the new PSP would sport a XrossMediaBar (XMB) which could be accessed in-game as on the PlayStation 3. However, SCEA reps said that the logo button would have the same functionality as the home button, and had no new information on when--or if--an in-game XMB would come to the PSP, as trophies are suspected of.

All the while we are expecting a new version of the DS Lite with the rumored slimmer version with the removal of the GBA support and here we are staring at another version of the PSP. Does this mean that handheld console gamers will have to wait until around 2010 or 2011 for the new wave of handheld consoles to be released?

Meanwhile, gamers who would love a second analog stick is very much anticipating its addition to perhaps a whole new version of the PSP. The PSP is turning more into a multimedia device as expected of Sony's electronic domination across the globe.

NBA Live vs NBA 2K Series Part 1

2008-08-19T11:51:00.001-07:00

It has been without a doubt a no contest that the 2K series has gotten the better of it's rival, the Live series. Just browse through forums and gaming review sites and you'll surely find lots of gamers losing interest over the Live series which was once considered by many as a great series during the 90s are now considered as trying hard and will never cope up with the 2K series.

I'm also an avid fan of the Live series since the 90s and even before the Live series - the NBA Jam. NBA Live was enjoying its reign over sports games back then and gamers are simply satisfied with what they have to offer in every year's release. And then came the NBA 2K series. For us gamers, it is a fresh start. A fresh new competition to give EA a run for their money. However, as each year's release goes by, the 2K series gets the better of the Live series in the most important part of the game - the gameplay. While EA has been constantly improving on the cosmetics of the game and the new features which don't even matter unless the actual gameplay has improved, 2K has found its way and earned the respect of the basketball afficionados out there.

Gone are the golden days of the Live series. In almost every site, you'd actually read tons of gamers reassuring you that the 2K series is better than its rival game.

To be continued...

Hardcore gamers dictating the trend of present and future gaming

2008-08-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

Just after Nintendo's press release of the Wii, everyone was fascinated about Shigeru Miyamoto's latest legendary contribution to the world of gaming. In between Xbox 360's and Playstation 3's release, this console generated the most interest not just among gamers but non-gamers too. This was when Ken Kutaragi stepped down from the Playstation world and the gaming industry bashed Sony for their overpriced next-gen console.

Two years have passed, here we are after the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots exclusive release on Playstation 3 and what many thought of as the fall of the Playstation proved to reciprocate. With the news about Wii 2 coming up and gamers demanding more of Wii's games, it's conclusive enough to say that hardcore gamers dictate the trend of present and future gaming.

Sure Nintendo has done its part recruiting non-gamers into our world but in reality, these so-called newbie gamers will head towards two different paths.

Case 1: Casual Gaming

Non-gamers who have shown interest in gaming bought Nintendo Wii most likely for non-traditional games. They will buy these games as long as they're non-traditional and will buy an estimated no more than a dozen games. Thus, they'll turn into casual gamers. Word of mouth, commercials, occassional surfing led them to seriously give gaming a try. And that's basically it. They will continue their presence in the gaming industry but will not make a huge splash that will make the game developers turn heads and start concentrating on making tons of games for them.

Case 2: Hardcore Gaming

While other non-gamers turn into games as a relief for stress, others begin to develop an intimate attachment to gaming itself and thus turning themselves into hardcore gamers. Although many dismiss that only a few of the overall population of gamers are of the hardcore type, I prefer not to believe in it and would like to stress that they are really what makes up the gaming industry today and not the casual gamers. These gamers will really spend big money on games, consoles and other gaming-related products. And with the large population as hardcore gamers, their demand is much more likely to be met first rather than that of the casual gamers. Better graphics, more hype, more gore, more sequels for their favorite franchise games. They dictate the tempo on where gaming is currently going and where it is headed in the future.

Better graphics or more sequels to follow... these are definitely some of the things which are constantly being worked on in the gaming industry. However, the gaming industry must also take a look at gaming in the non-gamers perspective and continue to support developing games that are for the masses. Hardcore gamers themselves and gaming review sites should also be wary and be open-minded enough to give casual gaming a chance and not just bash them thru poor ratings and knockdown reviews. After all, everyone started as a newbie gamer in their life as a gamer.

Nintendo Wii 2 in the works?

2008-08-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

With just two or three years under its belt, the Wii is rumored to be having an upgrade of its own with a new version aside from the Wii Music's additional peripheral which was first introduced last E3.

Links of the supposedly "Wii 2" are found on these sites:
http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26524636&page=1
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/31424/Wii-2-in-production-confirms-Nintendo

Also, with the current success of the Wii, it is also rumored that Shigeru Miyamoto has ran out of ideas in terms of the new design for the Wii. While it is quite obvious that it is not at par with the level of the hardware specs of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, Nintendo targeted on encouraging non-gamers to play and enjoy using their newest console. However, as gamers progress and graduate with what we call "casual gaming", the obvious demand would be better graphics for the future games they will want to play.

Roadblock

Perhaps Wii has the most number of innovations that a game console has to offer and has taken a huge leap forward in terms of gaming and game development itself. And with this advantage of having everything in hand, it may also act as a double-edged sword in terms of the future of the Wii.

With the cost of the raw materials for creating a new console rising, it is a known fact that it is difficult to sell their console to the gamers with the real console not nearly what they had in mind to be.

But I believe Shigeru, just like Will Wright, the creator of the Sims and soon to be Hall-of-Famer game Spore, will definitely not give up and will continue to innovate their console and up the ante again. Sure enough, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 have a lot of room to grow. Aside from their absolute advantage on the hardware side against the Wii, they may also start to think of adding the motion sensor to their next-gen consoles. But I sure do hope that Wii will not only continue to cater to the non-gamers and casual gamers but also consider the hardcore gamers by upgrading their hardware.

Who knows, Wii 2 may not even require a Wiimote to play the game. But I think with the console currently having rumors for another upgrade, maybe the DS as well will be having one on its own first. After all, the idea of releasing and gambling for the Wii came from the huge success of the DS and DS Lite.

Playing Final Fantasy thru Emulators

2008-08-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Are you an avid fan of the Final Fantasy series of Square Enix? Or are you a burgeoning fan of the series?

If you are the latter, chances are either you've missed some of the early games of the series or you're missing them and you want to rekindle that good old-fashioned RPG.

Well, here is a list of what I thought of the methods wherein you can play any of the Final Fantasy series.

Emulators
If you have a PC, almost all of the Final Fantasy series are playable thru the help of emulators.

Final Fantasy I
Original: NES, GBA, WonderSwan
Where it can be played: Playstation X (Remake), Mobile

Final Fantasy II
Original: NES, GBA, WonderSwan
Where it can be played: Playstation X (Remake), Mobile

Final Fantasy III
Original: NES, WonderSwan
Where it can be played: DS Lite (Remake)

Final Fantasy IV
Original: NES, SNES, WonderSwan
Where it can be played: DS Lite (Remake), Playstation X (Remake), Moble

Final Fantasy V
Original: SNES
Where it can be played: GBA (Remake), DS Lite (Remake), Playstation X (Remake)

Final Fantasy VI
Original: SNES
Where it can be played: GBA (Remake), Playstation X (Remake)

Final Fantasy VII
Original: PC, Playstation X

Final Fantasy VIII
Original: PC, Playstation X

Final Fantasy IX
Original: PC, Playstation X

Final Fantasy XI
Original: PC (Online)

Final Fantasy XI
Original: Playstation 2

Final Fantasy XII
Original: Playstation 2

Final Fantasy XIII
Original: Xbox 360 (US version), PS3 (Japanese version)

Some things to note:

Playstation X can be played thru emulators either on PC or Sony PSP or thru Playstation 2. I think Playstation 3 is also backward compatible upto Playstation X though I'm not so sure about it.

Playstation 2 can be played thru emulators on PC. As of this writing, only a few PS2 games are working on the PS2 emulators for the PC that I know of though I haven't really tried it yet.

DS can be played thru emulators via PC.

WonderSwan, GBA, NES and SNES can be played thru emulators either on PC, Sony PSP or anything that has the Java application on it. I've tried running it via my Sony k750i mobile phone and it worked (NES I should say).

How to download streaming files via BitComet on your browser

2008-08-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

Oftentimes, you'd like to download streaming videos which are a great help for you though you end up bookmarking the actual site to revisit it again. However, it still requires you to go online and stream the video again.

Even if the code for downloading the video is not seen unlike YouTube, you'll still be able to download it with the help of BitComet. Just enable the feature in which BitComet is an option to consider when you perform the right click functions on your browser during installation.

To download, just right click on any portion of the webpage except inside the streaming video. Then choose Download Media Files and then choose the title of the video you'd like to download. Afterwards, a pop-up dialog box will then ask you on where you'd like to save the file.

And that's it. You can view the file which is quite often a flash video in VLC player or any other players allowing the option to view files with FLV as an extension name.

Phidias in DS Lite Download

2008-08-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

I would like to share the Phidias application I've downloaded a few months ago which is a heck of an application in DS Lite. I hope the developer continues to pursue this because it is a lot of fun to use and it is very much the alternate of a Wacom tablet.

If you want to, just leave your email in the comments and then I will send you the NDS rom of the homebrew app Phidias.

Have fun drawing! Here's a sample of how to draw via Phidias on YouTube:

Fun with Canon's Color Accent

2008-08-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

I recently got addicted to the Color Accent feature of the Semi-automated Scenes Setup of my Canon S3IS Powershot.

What it does is it lets you choose a color you want to capture in the photo besides the black and white. To briefly explain it all, just watch the effects made in the movie "300". The movie is black and white with red being the dominant color.

How to use the Color Accent feature:
1) Go to the SCN feature of the knob of your Canon camera.
2) Press the left or right arrows to navigate until you have activated the Color Accent option. Other options aside from Color Accent include Color Swap and Fireworks.
3) Press the SET button, this will allow you to choose the color you want to be dominating in your photo. Press the left arrow to choose in the color set with the small square at the center of your screen as your guide with picking the color you want. Press the SET button again to accept the changes.

Notice that in the LCD screen, you will be automatically see the difference. Here are a few photos I've captured using Color Accent. Have fun with it!

Xbox 360's RROD, RROL or 3RL

2008-07-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Fascinated on what the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii is in store beyond its games, I was browsing the web when I found out about Xbox 360's "Red Ring of Death/Doom" ("RROD"), the "Red Light of Doom" ("RLOD") or the "Three Red Lights" ("3RL"). Check out Wikipedia's site to learn more about it.

Anyways, I am already inclined on seriously buying the Xbox next year if I had the extra dough since the Wii seems too expensive for me and even more expensive than the Xbox when I had to step back and rethink if it is really worth buying with these technical problems that have been plaguing the console. What made me consider Xbox is its low cost due to being the first next-gen being released ahead of the others and its library of games which is almost similar with the PS3 which would probably take me 3 to 4 years of convincing myself to buy it before actually buying the hardware.

Actual Fix for the Xbox 360's 3RL

Step-by-Step fix for 3RL

Familiar with Microsoft's Windows XP's BSOD? Yup, Blue Screen of Death! It suddenly came into my mind that the 3RL is actually very similar to the Windows' BSOD. Well, somehow Microsoft has been poor at thoroughly testing their products at the user acceptance stage. That is why people who are still considering on buying the Xbox instead of its hardware competitor PS3 are thinking twice on buying it.

While there may be lots of workarounds circling the web for these bugs. Certainly we, the gamers, hope that these major technical problems be addressed before releasing it to the us and hope that it won't happen again in the future.

How to Record Videos from Video Camera to PC via TV Tuner

2008-07-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Just hours ago, I recorded lots of videos from our Sony Handycam Vision CCD-TRV118 NTSC. Unfortunately, unlike the latest camcorders with USB and/or fireware capability, it only has an S/Video out and AV out slots built in it. Here are the steps on how I recorded it:

Specs Used:
Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP WDM TV Tuner
WinFast PVR
Intel Dual Core 2.66 Ghz, 1GB DDR, WinXP
Sony Handycam Vision CCD-TRV118 NTSC
Sony Video Hi8 Tape

Steps:

Make sure that the drivers for the TV tuner is properly installed together with the software capturing tool Winfast PVR.
Connect the S/Video Out of the videocam to the S/Video in slot of the TV tuner.
Connect the AV out of the videocam to the microphone slot of your sound card. In my case, the sound card of the PC is built-in in the motherboard Asus P5D1-X. Optionally, you may connect the AV out of the videocam to the AV in of the TV tuner.
Open Winfast PVR then select S-Video as the input source. Click the configuration option. The set-up should look like the screenshot below. Click the check icon at the bottom once you've finished the configuration.
Press the Play button of the videocam and then press the Record button.
Click the Record button again to finish the recording. If you have enabled the playback, WinFast will automatically playback the recorded video.

The saved file format is MPEG-2 and is most probably located at the hard disk with the largest disk space partition available.

Don't worry about the large file format as there are many Video Editing tools available like the following:

Cyberlink Power Director
Windows Movie Maker
Sony Vegas
Adobe Premiere

E3 2008 Recap

2008-07-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

E3 2008 Recap

2006-2007 were the years of the next-gen consoles. Now, 2008, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are strengthening their consoles by enriching their libraries of the next-gen games while they themselves are strengthening their online services.

Only Nintendo had surprisingly added another hardware feature which debatably should have been included in the Wii's package at its first release. While currently, they have surpassed Microsoft Xbox 360 in terms of sales in the North America, the future may still be unclear for the next-gen console wars.

Slowly creeping up the Wii is Sony's Playstation 3. With the recent release of the much awaited Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in PS3, it has recovered from such a slow start due to its relatively expensive console against the Wii and the XBox 360. Only problem hindering them from a gigantic leap to be at par with the Wii is with Final Fantasy XIII's release on XBox 360 and a lot of formerly exclusive Playstation titles appearing on the XBox.

Complete coverage of E3 games are on this link:
http://www.ign.com/index/e3/2008/games/

Activision Blizzard Merging, EA-id Partnership

Two of the top third party game development teams have merged - Activision and Blizzard, makers of popular games such as Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, Doom and Call of Duty. Not long after, EA and id announced a partnership for the upcoming game Rage. With these sudden acquisitions and partnerships, expect to see more quality games released though yielding to fewer competency and games releasing with such mergers.

All throughout the event, it was more of a so-so year for the three console companies with third party developers stealing the show with their mergers and partnership. Square Enix has been getting their stuff done with the current release of Final Fantasy XIII in XBox 360 and the remake of Final Fantasy IV in 3D for the Nintendo DS. Remakes and franchise releases - this is what fans of Square Enix, including me, keep us happy and dedicated Square Enix gamers. If you are expecting to see a new handheld console release, well it may be around 2 to 3 years ahead of us since gamers of both the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS Lite are still enjoying their games behind it. Although I was really expecting that the rumors for the new version of the Nintendo DS will be announced.

Spore E3 Evolution Gameplay

2008-07-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Around 5 years in the making and the Spore will hit the market on September this year! That's right Will Wright's masterpiece will definitely be a giant leap not just for the gaming industry but for the programming/ web development as well.

I sure hope the reviews coming from gaming sites like GameSpot be fair enough for open-ended games such as this.

How to download YouTube videos

2008-07-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

In this article, you will find a quick and relatively easy method of downloading YouTube videos.

While you can watch YouTube videos thru streaming, you can also download these videos and save it as either FLV (Flash video which is the format of YouTube videos) or the MP4 format (a much clearer, bigger version for iPod and other portable media players).

First go to the YouTube site, then key in your desired video of download.
Click the video thumbnail for the video.
Copy the URL on your browser's address bar with a format like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBCa2j-Lo60
Open a new browser window or tab. (I'm currently using Mozilla Firefox)
Key in http://keepvid.com then press Enter.
Once the KeepVid site has finished loading, paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to download at the URL textbox of KeepVid then click the Download button beside it.
The Download links portion will be appearing and voila you're ready to download your desired YouTube video. It' s that simple.

Playing YouTube FLV files:
You can download VLC player at http://videolan.org to view the FLV videos.

Alternately, these YouTube files, once streamed at your PC will automatically be saved on your PC's Temporary Internet Files folder. Although it may depend whether if you have fully streamed or just browsed through it, the videos may be incompletely downloaded.

That's it! To wrap it up, this is just the simplest solution to download YouTube videos. You may opt to choose other options which may be installing plug-ins for your browser and other third-party applications.

Why CD-R King products are so cheap?

2008-07-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Recently I bought a 20-piece bundle of blank DVD+R discs at CD-R King at the MRT Ayala Station. I was very much relieved that their stocks of blank DVDs are now pretty much an average. These past months, they haven't been able to restock blank DVDs and many of their patrons have resorted to buying expensive blank DVDs at other shops.

Well, I must say I am an avid fan of their products. Not only are they way relatively cheaper compared to other shops, they also offer a wide variety of multimedia products.

Anyways, I just found this on their site briefly explaining on why their products are so cheap. Just hanging around the internet...

http://www.cdrking.com/local/support/cdrkingcheap.php

Capture Screenshots on your PSP

2008-07-25T03:17:00.000-07:00

Wanna capture screenshots of your PSP games, desktop and all sorts of stuff? You may want to check out this link for more info: http://www.stylemo.com/2008/01/23/how-to-capture-screenshots-on-your-psp/

It's a cool feature to capture the in-game screenshots of your favorite game. All you have to do is click the Note symbol after you have successfully installed and enabled the seplugins folder in your PSP.

Sample screenshots of my PSP Slim 3.71 M33-2 and some Fight Night Round 3 screenies:

NBA Live 08 Dynasty Mode on PSP

2008-06-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've played NBA Live 08. Now I'm currently starting a Dynasty with my favorite team Dallas Mavericks with fantasy draft.

The 12-man roster for the first season are as follows:

Starting Line-up:
Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic
Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas Mavericks
Rudy Gay - Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Miller - Memphis Grizzlies
Javaris Crittenton - Memphis Grizzlies

Bench:
Marcus Vinicius - Memphis Grizzlies
Andrew Bynum - Los Angeles Lakers
Trevor Ariza - Los Angeles Lakers
David Lee - New York Knicks
Michael Pietrus - Golden State Warriors
Ryan Gomes - Minnesota Timberwolves
Gerald Wallace - Charlotte Bobcats

Note that I didn't actually realize I was drafting four players from the Memphis Grizzlies. I just drafted young players to keep them going with more seasons to come and I think Dirk Nowitzki is the oldest among the group.

How to display TV-out in Creative Zen Vision M

2008-06-22T00:39:00.000-07:00

Creative Zen's dock with AV-out cable connected

AV cable connected to the Sanyo TV

Entire set-up with the movie "21" being played from the Creative Zen Vision: M 60GB to the video out of the 19" Sanyo TV

While fiddling with my Creative Zen Vision M, I tried connecting the AV cable which comes from my Canon Powershot S3 IS.

I tried connecting the AV cable to the dock of my Creative Zen Vision M. At first, it didn't really work even when I already plugged the cable to the Sanyo TV. Anyways, I was amazed when I adjusted the cable to be about a couple of centimeters away from the dock and it worked.

Just when I was about to buy a separate AV cable for the Zen, the AV cable coming from my camera worked wonders for me, saving at least a thousand pesos just like the direct charger in which I found out that the Sony PSP Slim charger would also work for the Zen.

Bottom line is, if you have other gadgets with accessories, go and figure out if these accessories may actually work for your gadget. It's a lot cheaper experimenting this way rather than buying the accessory specific for that product.

How to download using Torrent

2008-06-21T04:44:00.000-07:00

There are actually a lot of step-by-step HowTos for downloading torrent files found on the Internet. I just thought of creating one myself to remind me of I actually do it myself.

What is a Torrent?

According to Wikipedia:

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) communications protocol. BitTorrent is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting, and bandwidth resources. Instead, when data is distributed using the BitTorrent protocol, each recipient supplies pieces of the data to newer recipients, reducing the cost and burden on any given individual source, providing redundancy against system problems, and reducing dependence on the original distributor.

Basically it is a variety of P2P much like the Kazaa, Limewire and Morpheus.

How to download torrent files:

1) Download a torrent installer. As of now, I am currently using BitComet which is available at http://www.BitComet.com. It is free and although it is not quite as popular as uTorrent and Azureus, it is user-friendly and has a lot of options in it. Install it on your PC and you're good to go.

2) Search target files to be downloaded on popular torrent sites with a high number of seeds. It is important to note that the specific torrent file has a lot of seeders and not just leechers themselves. Seeders are actually the number of downloaders who also share the file both of you are currently downloading or the uploader himself sharing the file.

Some sites with the best torrent searches (and quality seeds):

http://www.demonoid.com
http://www.mininova.org
http://www.thepiratebay.org
http://www.isohunt.com
http://www.torrentz.com
http://www.torrentportal.com

Note: You may also look for the comments posted on the torrent itself to find out whether it is a fake, troll or contains virus.

3) After searching, you can either download or open the ".torrent" file in it. You can open in via the torrent downloader you've currently installed. As for BitComet, go to File Menu -> Open Torrent. Locate the file in you'd like to download. Choose which partition on your hard disk you'd like to store the file being downloaded.

Note: The torrent file already allocates the whole storage for the file you will be downloading even if you haven't finished downloading it yet.

4) After downloading, verify the status of your download on the Download column. If the torrent file you've downloaded contains a lot of files, you may either choose your target files first in the Files Portion on the lower right portion of BitComet. You can check the file you want to download first or queue it and set it on a higher or lower priority depending on your choice or you may opt not to download it at all. Once the download's percentage is 100%, your download is now complete.

And that's it! I hope you had fun downloading torrents!

Lego Digital Designer

2008-06-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

While I was busy searching for Philippine stores selling a variety of Lego products at philbricksters, I came across a perfect fit for Lego enthusiasts - the Lego Digital Designer.

Lego Digital Designer is a free 23MB installer from the creators of Lego product itself. If you have played The Sims before, you'll probably be more familiar with it once you've installed it. It is like the Build Mode in The Sims wherein you can create your own house. You can either build it from scratch or modify existing sample layouts.

Some key features to note about the Lego Digital Designer: Take a Screenshot - Allows you to take a snapshot of the design you've created. Currently, it is in PNG format.

Building Guide Player - Generate HTML files for step-by-step tutorial on how your creation was built.

Save and Open - Share your creations at the Lego site itself and let other builders vote to your creation. You can also download other designers' works and open it as LXF file. This allows you to copy just about everything and modify the creation to fit your needs.

LDraw Files - You can actually create your custom bricks on another application program and import your bricks to the Lego Digital Designer.

Themes - Choose from either Factory, Mindstorms and Creator themes. It's fun building from these digital bricks, however it is much more fun building it in real life.

Although actual Lego bricks are expensive, this program may at the very least mellow down the itch of buying the actual Lego products. It really came to me as a surprise to see that Lego has created an application like this for its followers. And I hope that the Lego building bricks won't become extinct over the next generations to come despite the challenges presented by the digital generation.

Current Download Queues

2008-06-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Current download queues (June 18):

House of Wax - Movie
Cloverfield - Movie
Balls of Fury - Movie
Madagascar - Movie
Lego Star Wars II The Original Trilogy - PSP Game
Typing Master Pro 7
Gong! - PC Game Installer

Lots of movies to watch on my Zen.

The 7th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention 2008

2008-06-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

SM Megatrade Hall - Time to have some fun reminiscing about your favorite toys.

Around 5PM, Sunday, June 15, I lined up to enter and pay 80 bucks for the Toy Con 2008. It was a fun-filled activity as I was still lucky enough to arrive just an hour before the Group Cosplay competition. Upon seeing lots of photographers, I quickly gathered mine, set it up and captured pictures of different toys feasting our eyes scattered around the hall.

A few booths worth noting:

Gong! While loitering around, I saw around four players playing a cute soccer online game called Gong! I was ecstatic to see a football online game being played on PC because not only is it promoting football in the country but it's also my favorite sport.

Guitar Hero - Want a free Game Mag? Get ready to line up and play Guitar Hero on PS3.

Lego - My favorite toy is still very much alive! It's been 50 years since Lego started these little building blocks helping the toddlers develop their inner passion for designing anything out of these blocks. A Philippine community was built as Lego also pays tribute to the recent Philippine Independence Day. In this huge lot, you'll be able to find a city hall, police station, houses as well as portions featuring space and pirates.

Wacom - Wacom has always been present when it comes to toy events. The booth boasts of lots of talented Filipinos drawing in a variety of Wacom tablets showcasing their drafting skills in Adobe Photoshop.

Alfredo Alcala and Mars Ravelo's comic booths - While many of us find Filipino artworks cheap, it never ceases to amaze me how they've managed to fight for Filipino comic book survival against American and Japanese giants such as Marvel, DC Comics, Shounen Jump!

Private Collectors - Mostly, these private collectors want to showcase their toy collections to various toy fans. They, trust me, are a lot knowledgeable in terms of the collectibles.

Group CosPlay

Ten groups participated in the group costume play. It got me guessing whether I had the guts to ask them to pose for a shot at my camera. With the help of luck, I was able to get more than enough as the Group Cosplay competition just started a few minutes after my arrival.

Among the participants were the following:

Shinigami Captains dancing in Hagibis songs
WWE's Incredible Hulk + Hulk Hogan vs Triple H
Counterstrike with Zenigata (?), Zoro of One Piece and school girls
Sven the Rogue Knight of DoTA, Magic Knight Ray Earth theme dancing the Michael Jackson's Black or White while imitating the Coca-Cola commercial with C2
Power Rangers with Sentai theme battling an alien
Cross-dressed boys wearing Japanese school girls' uniforms
Resident Evil with Crush and Freddie Krugger (?)
Macross story narration
School Rumble with Hard Gay fighting Cyclops, Manny Pacquiao and Spartan's Leonidas
Ragnarok players dancing the Kuro-chan (?) song

I'll be posting more once I get the photos uploaded to Multiply.

Google Bombing

2008-06-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

While researching for topics related to RSS, I jumped over and over a couple of wiki pages to be able to get a gist of some of the computer internet jargons such as digg. To my surprise, I also saw this term "Google bombing" and it made me more interested in it rather than "digging".

It cited an example of Google bombing such as the "miserable failure" leading to George W. Bush's site. I can also recall in the past that I've done this search-the-keyword "miserable failure" and tada magic... the top site searches led to the white house's site.

I'm not pretty sure about it but I think some of it maybe done thru the meta tags in HTML in which you enter the keywords which best suit the description of your site. An example of it is the tags or labels you want to associate for this blog entry for your site.

Here's the site I found with Before and After searches of the words "miserable failure"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannysullivan/369539947/

And now I'm wondering... how is this possible? Is it alright to directly put the blame on the web developer of those sites inserting such keywords in it?

Supposedly, yes. But in this article, I found out how it works. I think it best describes the whole Google bombing event and how it was resolved.

While there are tips concerning SEO (Search Engine Optimization), there will always be something mysterious popping out around the web for us heavy web users. But it is quite interesting to note, for myself, to document this in my blog.

Podcasts 101

2008-06-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

From a simple guestbook to now popularly known as blog, everyone from all around the world is now capable of writing and/or recording articles they want to share to their audience.

It evolved from simple write-up content sharing to now audio and video podcasts. While I myself am not too familiar with both the terms and tools for podcasting, I'd like to share what I had just learned a while ago about it.

Podcatchers - In simple terms, podcasts are just audio or video clips uploaded by people who want to share their knowledge about a certain topic. These podcasts may be streamed or downloaded by their audience. As for the audience on the go and with portable media players accompanying them, podcasts need to be downloaded or streamed thru their media players. One tool I'd like to recommend, although this is the first time I have actually installed a podcatcher is Juice, formerly known as iPodder. You can schedule downloads for your favorite podcast sites to ensure that fresh new episodes are downloaded immediately.

Podcast sites - Right now, I can only recommend the links that my former classmate referred to me for the latest in the IT industry. A bit of a warning though, you may find some sites geeky.

Dr. Dobbs' Podcast
http://syndication.sdmediagroup.com/feeds/public/cmp_podcast_all.xml

Attack of the Show's Daily Video Podcast
http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/podcasts/5/Attack_of_the_Show_Daily_Video_Podcast.xml

The Naked Scientists Naked Science Radio Show Podcast
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/naked_scientists_podcast.xml

PSP Podcast - Portable Gaming Revolution
http://feeds.feedburner.com/psppodcast

Podcast Player - VLC player is still the most preferred podcast player, imho. For convenience sake, I'd recommend this one as you are able to play a lot of audio and video formats here. You can download it on http://www.videolan.org

Podcast Portable Player - You have successfully downloaded the podcasts and you want to listen or watch it when you're away from your PC. There's iPod, Creative Zen and Zune to choose from besides other portable players. But if you want wifi capability, then iTouch is the one for you. You don't have to plug your iTouch to your PC just to download podcasts. Once set-up, it automatically downloads podcasts directly saved to your player.

That's it! Hope you learned something about a newbie's first hand experience in podcasting.

Creative Zen Vision M 60GB

2008-06-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Just a while ago, I bought a second hand Creative Zen Vision M 60GB. I must say it's a bang-per-buck unit and I'm very impressed with it and I find myself amused by the features in which I am still exploring as of this moment.

I connected my Zen to my PC and installed the ZEN Vision:M Series Media Explorer for faster drag and drop and organization of my files. I'll be posting quick updates probably tomorrow or on the weekend once I get these features working: SD Card Connectivity thru USB Host, AV out (in which I later on found out that the accessory costs more than a thousand peso) and downloading and listening to video/audio podcasts.

Ja Ne!

Orbs Tutorial for Paint dot Net

2008-06-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Want to know how to make orbs? How about making one and still don't have the luxury of affording a Corel PaintShop Pro or Adobe Photoshop?

I found this great tutorial for creating orbs from scratch in Paint.Net.

http://www.freewebs.com/cmdsketchpad/glassorb.htm

Now that you've learned how to create one, you can customize it to insert images inside the orbs. Just click the layer and set the layer mode to Multiply for that image. Note that this may only work if both layers have the same background color.